



S^^Ml 




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"ELOCUTIONARY MANUAL:' 



THE 



PRINCIPLES 



ELOCUTION, 



EXERCISES AND NOTATIONS 



FOR 



PRONUNCIATION, INTONATION, EMPHASIS, GESTURE 
AND EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION. 

BY 

ALEXANDER MELVILLE BELL, 

ri 

Author of "Visible Speech," "Principles of Speech and Dictionary of 
Sounds," " Emphasized Liturgy," " Standard Elocutionist," 
"Essays and Postscripts on Elocution," "Lectures 
on Phonetics," "English Line- 
Writing," &c, &c, &c. 



FIFTH EDITION. 

revised and enlarged. 



\ 



Washington, D. C: New York: 

JOHN C. PARKER. ^EDGAR S. WERNER. 

Boston : 

JAMES P. BURBANK. 



? N 



Copyright, 1887, by 
Alexander Melville Bell. 



ixchange 

rsity 
JUL 1 2 1933 



GIBSON BROS. 

PRINTERS AND BOOKBINDER8 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 



PREFACE 



In this fifth edition of the " Principles of Elocu- 
tion" all the directions and exercises have been again 
revised, and to a great extent re- written. Much new 
matter has also been added, including the entire series 
of "Reading Exercises marked for Emphasis, 
Clause, and Pitch" (pp. 145 to 156). The work is 
now as perfect as the Author's best efforts can make 
it. In this form, therefore, it has been for the first 
time electrotyped in preparation for continued and ex- 
tended use. 

1525 Thirty-Fifth Street, 
Washington, D. C., % 
September, 1887. 



Extracts from Former Prefaces. 



First Edition. 

In the preparation of this Work the Author has endeavoured to 
write not merely for the use of pupils, to whom a defective 
description in the book may be orally supplemented in the 
class-room, but for those to whom such additional instruc- 
tion is not and cannot be available. How far he has succeeded 
in this remains to be proved. He has studied to preserve the 
utmost simplicity of arrangement, and to avoid overloading 
principles by unnecessary rules. He has not followed in the 
steps of any preceding writer, either as to his Theory or his plan 
of developing it; but he has observed Nature for himself, and 
recorded his observations after his own fashion. The Science of 
Elocution seemed to him to want an A B C, and he has endeav- 
oured to supply the deficiency. 

Edinburgh, November, 1849. 



Second Edition. 

Two years ago the Author published his " New Elucidation 
of the Principles of Speech and Elocution," — a work which has 
been so favourably received among Critics, and so rapidly dis- 
posed of, that he has been induced to prepare an Elocutionary 
Manual adapted for use in classes, as well as for private students. 

This Volume may be considered as a Second Edition (but en- 
tirely re-written) of the Elocutionary Sections of the larger work. 
The Fundamental Theories, and the Details of Articulation and 
Defective Speech are condensed ; the Principles of Orthoepy, 
Vocalization, and the Art of Reading, more copiously illustrated ; 
and a full Practical Treatment of the subject of Gesture has 
been added ; besides an extensive Collection of Poetical and 
Dramatic Quotations marked for Exercise in Expressive Reading. 

All the Extracts are alphabetically collected in one general 
Index in the Table of Contents, so as to form a Dictionary of 
Emotive Quotations : and the Table of Contents, generally, is 
arranged as a minute Reference-Index to the subjects treated of 
in the Volume. 

The Author has to acknowledge his obligations to his father, 
Alex. Bell, Esq., Professor of Elocution, London; and to his 
brother, D. C. Bell, Esq., Professor of Elocution, Dublin, for 
their critical perusal of this Work in its progress through the 
Press. 

Edinburgh, 1852. 



EXTRACTS FROM FORMER PREFACES. V 

Third Edition. 

In the present Edition the whole of the Notations have been 
revised, and many new paragraphs have been added in each 
Division of the Work. The Introductory Essay and the Section 
on Emphasis are entirely new, and a large number of additional 
Exercises and Illustrations have been given under the various 
Heads of Inflexion, Expressive Exercises, Gesture. The Work 
will now, it is hoped, be found still more worthy of the flattering 
encomiums it has received from the Press and the Professional 
Public. 



Edinburgh, 1859. 



Fourth Edition. 



The Third Edition of the " Elocutionary Manual" having 
been for some time out of print, and the work being still in steady 
demand, the Author has been induced to prepare a New Edition, 
with the improvements suggested by his long experience. Such 
a duty he cannot hope to be again called on to undertake ; and, 
as his "Principles of Elocution" — first published in 1849 — 
have had a manifest influence on subsequent elocutionary litera- 
ture, he desires to extend and perpetuate that influence by a final 
revision of the Theories and Exercises, which were the fruit of 
original study and observation thirty years ago. 

Tutelo Heights, Brantford, 

Ontario, Canada, July, 1878. 



CONTENTS. 



Introductory Essay 
Directions for Using this Work 



Par. Page. 



PART FIRST.— PRONUNCIATION 
I. General Principles .... 
Definition of Speech 
The Instrument of Speech 

Elocution 

II. Principles of Respiration 

The relation of breath to speech . 
The acts of inspiration and expiration 
Confidence dependent on respiration 

Respiratory Exercises. 
Prolonged vocalization . 
Frequent inhalation . 
.Salutary nature of these exercises . 
To strengthen weak respiration 
Proper time for exercise 
Principles of Vocalization 
Mechanical formation of voice 
Variations of pitch 
Vocal energy .... 
Huskiness ..... 
Oral modifications of quality 
Principles of Vowel Formation 
Illustrative experiment . 
Organs of vowel modification . 
Labio-lingual vowels — foreign 
Varieties of lingual vowels 
English vowel scheme and numerical 

notation .... 
The terms " long " and " short " . 

Vo%vel Exercises. 
Illustrations of the various modes of 
orthography of the English vowels 
V. Anglicisms of Vowel Sound 

Characteristic formation of A and O 
Peculiarities associated with R . 
VI. Scotticisms of Vowel Sound 

Numerical notation of examples 

VII. HlBERNICISMS OF VOWEL SoUXD 

Numerical notation of examples 



III. 



IV. 



i 

2-6 

7-8 

9-10 

11-19 

20 

21-22 

23 
24 

25 
26 

27-28 
29 
30 
3i 

32-33 

34-35 

36-37 

38 

39 

40-43 

44-45 



47-68 

69 
70-76 

77-97 
98-109 



17 



18 



25 



32 

34 
37 



VIII 



CONTENTS. 



VIII. Americanisms of Vowel Sound 

Numerical notation of examples 

Nasal quality ..... 
IX. Distinction Between Vowels a 
Articulations 

Sounds of Y and W 
X. Exercises in Vowel Notation . 

Phonetic directions 

Poem for marking — '• Thought and 
Deed" 

Words for marking 

Key to the exercises for marking 
XI. The Aspirate H 

English irregularities 

Northern peculiarity . 

Oratorical " 

Silent H 

XII. Articulations (Consonants) 

Breath and voice varieties 

Obstructive and continuous do. . 

Three modes of articulation . 

First mode — Complete contact . 

Nasal elements .... 

Second mode— Partial contact . 

Third mode — Approximation 

Trills 

General scheme of articulations . 

English articulations . 

Phonetic table of articulations 

XIII. Principle of Distinctness 

XIV. Defects of Articulation 

Relative positions of the oral organs 
Labial expressiveness 
XV. Anglicisms of Articulation . 

Sounds, of R, Y, W,~K, G . 
XVI. Scotticisms of Articulation 

Sounds of R, L, Ng, T, Th, H, Wh 

XVII. HlBERNICISMS OF ARTICULATION 

Sounds of P, T, K, L, S . 
XVIII. Americanisms of Articulation . 
Sounds of R 
XIX. Syllabic Quantity .... 
Degrees of quantity in elements 
The liquids— L, M, N, Ng . . 
Degrees of quantity in combinations 
XX. Difficult Combinations 
Sounds of pt, kt 
Exercises on difficult words 
Exercises on difficult phrases and sen 
tences 



Par. 

HO-118 
119 

120-123 

124-125 

126 

127 

128-129 

131 
132 

133 
134 

137 

138 

139 

140 

141-142 

143 
144 

145 

148 

15* 

153 

161-163 
164 

165-168 

169-176 

177-180 

181-182 

183 

184 

186-188 

190 

191 

192-193 



Page. 
38 



CONTENTS. 



IX 



XXI. Accent or Syllabic Stress . 

Secondary accents .... 
Table of verbal accents . 
Principles of accentuation 
False accents in poetry . 
Sentential accents .... 
Transposition of accent for emphasis 



Par. 

195 

197-198 

199-201 

202 

203 

204-205 



Page. 
60 



PART SECOND.— INTONATION AND CLAUSING. 
I. General Principles .... 
Essential characteristics of speaking 

tones 1-2 

Tones constitute a natural language . 3 

Reading and speaking tones . . 4 
II. Mechanism of the Inflexions . 

Simple and compound inflexions . 5 

Diagram of simple inflexions . . 6 

Pitch and extent of the inflexions 7-12 

Analysis of compound inflexions . 13-14 

Diagram of compound inflexions 15 
III. Notation of the Inflexions 

Four degrees represented . . 17 

Plaintive tones ..... 18 
JV. Preparatory Pitch .... 

A principle of opposition . . . 19-20 
V. Expressiveness of the Inflexions 

Logical expressiveness . . . 21-22 

Sentimental expressiveness . . 23-24 
Gamut of l7ijlexions. 
VI. Exercises on the Inflexions . 

Words with initial accents . . 27 
Words with pre-accentual syllables . 28-29 
Sentences with tones marked . 30 
VII. Resume of Principles of Mechanism, 
Melody and Meaning of the In- 
flexions 

VIII. Principles of Verbal Grouping . 
Stages of Verbal Grouping. 

Articles 33 

Prepositions .... 34 

Pronouns with verbs ... 35 

Pronouns with nouns . . 36 

Auxiliary verbs .... 37 

6. Adverbs with adjectives or adverbs 38 

7. Adjectives with nouns ... 39 
Conjunctions .... 40 
The verb "to be" 41 
Adverbs with verbs ... 42 
Objects or complements of verbs 43 

44 



8. 

9- 
10. 
11. 



66 



68 

69 
69 

7i 

72 



73 

74 



12. Complemental clauses 



X CONTENTS. 

Par. Page. 

IX. Punctuation and Pausing . . 81 

Clausing not regulated by commas, etc. 45 

The marks of punctuation ... 46 

Where pauses are required . . 47 - 48 

Example: — "Thunder-storm among 

the Alps " 49 

X. Emphatical Disjunctions of Words 
XL Staccato Pronunciation 

Importance of clausular reading . 53 

XII. Passages for Exercise in Clausing . 

{For a List of the Passages, see " Central Index of Extracts."} 

XIII. Application of Principles of Inflex- 

ion to Sentences 

Two fundamental principles . . 54 

1. Rising progression connects . $$ 

2. Falling progression disconnects 56 
Three forms of sentences ... 57 

1. Assertive sentences . . 58 

2. Interrogative sentences . . 59 

3. Imperative sentences . . 60 

XIV. Analysis of Sentences 

Subjects, predicates and circumstances 61-68 

Complemental and independent clauses 69 

Subjects and predicates must be dis- 
tinctly prominent .... 70 

Absolute and conditional predicates 72 

Example of sentential analysis . 98 
XV. Varieties of Interrogative Sen- 
tences 

Inflexion not governed by construc- 
tion 73 

Questions referring to the facts in a 

sentence ...... 74 

Questions not referring to the facts in 

a sentence ..... 75~76 

Questions repeated or echoed . 77 

Elliptical questions .... 79 

Questions connected by "or" . 80 

Interrogative sentences ending with 

similes, etc. ..... 81 

XVI. Governing and Dependent Words 

Examples 83 

XVII. Series . 

XVIII. Resume of Leading Principles of 
Sentential Intonation 

Exercise on Sentential Inflexions . 104 



CONTENTS. 



XI 



PART THIRD— MODULATION AND EXPRESSIVE 
DELIVERY. 

Par. Page. 



Modulation — what it includes 

Pitch— where changes are necessary 2-3 

Notation of Pitch .... 5 

Force — its notation ... 6 

Time — its notation .... 7 

Where changes of Force and Time 

are necessary ..... 8 

Effectiveness of variations . . 9' 

Expressive Quality — what it includes 

Necessity of sentiment in reading 11 

Elements of Expressive Quality 

and their notation 
Recapitulative Table of Notations 
for Inflexion, Pitch, Force, 
Time, and Expression . 
Marked Exercises in Expressive 
Reading 

l&or a List of the Passages, see "General Index of Extracts.") 

PART FOURTH.— EMPHASIS. 
I. General Princples .... 

Kindred nature of accented emphasis 1-2 

The new idea emphatic ... 3 

Accentual effect of priority of words 4 

Relative value of the " parts of speech " 5-7 

Principal and accessory parts of* sen- 
tences ...... 8 

Separate delivery of clauses . . 9 

Antithesis involved in emphasis . 10 

Suggested antithesis the most em- 
phatic ...... 11 

IL Example of Emphatic Analysis — 
'•'•Lines on the Burial of Sir John 
Moore" ...... 

III. Repetitions 

IV. Reading Exercises marked for Em- 

phasis, Clause, and Pitch . 

{For a List of the Passages, see " General Index of Extracts.") 

V. Resume of the Principles of Senten- 
tial Accent or Emphasis . 

VI. Passages for Exercise in the Selec- 
tion of Emphatic Words 

{For a list of the Passages, see " General Index of Extracts." ) 
Key to the emphatic words in the fore- 
going extracts 

Key to the emphatic words in " Thun- 
der-storm among the Alps " . 



107 



109 

no 

112 

113 

13s 



137 
144 

145 

156 
156 

163. 
164 



XII 



CONTENTS. 



Par. Page. 



PART FIFTH.— LOOKS AND GESTURES 
I. General Principles 

Gesticulation necessary to effective 

oratory 
Natural order of passionate expression 
II. Expressiveness of the Different 

Facial and Bodily Motions 
The features .... 
The eyebrows 
The eyes . 
The nostrils 
The lips . 
The mouth 
The head 
The arms 
The hands 
The fingers 
The body 
The lower limbs 
The feet 

III. Summary of the General Principles 

of Gesticulative Expression 

IV. Principles of Grace 

The eye ..... 

The head .... 

The arms ..... 

The hand .... 

The fingers 

The weight of the body . 

The square of the body 

The feet 

Turning ..... 

Kneeling . . . 

Bowing 

Standing before a rail 

Holding a book .... 

Sitting 

V. Relative Positions of the Hand and 
Arm in Motion 

Illustrative diagrams 

Exercises on the principle . 
VI. Application of Gesture . 

Inexpressive motions to be avoided 

Repose to be studied 

Frequency of gesture . 

Tautology of gesture 

Directive gestures — their pictorial ar- 
rangement 

Illustrative gestures 

Emotive gesticulation 



17 

18 

19-21 

22-24 

25 
26 
27 
28-29 
30 
3i 
32 
33 
34 
35 



39-40 

4i 
42 
43 
44 

45-48 

49-5o 

5i 



CONTENTS. 



XIII 



VIII. 



Bodily harmony in gesture 
Colloquial and oratorical gestures . 
VII. Examples of the Application of 

Gesture ...... 

Lochinvar ..... 

Hamlet's Meditation on Death . 
Death of Marmion 
Orator's First Speech in Parliament 
Rustic Logic ..... 

Notation of Gesture .... 

Diagram of positions of the feet . 
Notation of positions of the feet 
Notation of positions of the arms . 
Diagram of positions of the arms 
Graceful and passionate transitions 
IX. General Scheme of Notation for 

Attitude and Motjon . 
The feet, lower limbs, and trunk . 
The arms .;.... 
The hands ..... 
Parts of the body on which the hands 

may be placed ..... 
The head and face .... 
X. Order of Symbolic Arrangement 

Recapitulative table of symbolic letters 
XI. Illustrations of the Notation of 

Gesture 

Macbeth to the dagger-vision 
Marco Bozzaris .... 



PART SIXTH.— THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

Comparative rarity of illustrations . 
Emphasized Exercises in the Lan- 
guage of Passion 

{For a List of the Passages, see " General Index of Extracts.") 



Par. Page. 
52 

53 

180 
180 
182 
183 
183 
184 
185 
186 



58 
62-64 



65 
66 
67 



68 
69 

73 



187 



[90 



192 
192 
194 



197 
198 



GENERAL INDEX OF EXTRACTS. 



Prose passages are distinguished by an asterisk (*). 



Page. 

Absorbing Love . . . 198 

Actions 113 

Admiration 198 

Admonition to Consist- 
ency 198 

A Dream 198 

Adulation 145 

Advice 199 



Page. 

Affection 199 

Affectionate Remembrance, 199- 
Age's Sorrow .... 145 
Ambition .... 113, 20a 
Ambition Dissatisfied . 114 
Ambition Repented . . 114 
Ambitious Rivalry . . . 114 
An Ancient Temple . . 84- 



XIV 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Ancestry 114 

Anecdote *i56 

Anger .... *8s, 115, 200 
Angry Surprise . . . 200 
Animal Enjoyment . . 84 
An Orator's First Speech 183 
Antiquarian Rapture .' . 145 

Apparition 201 

Apprehension .... 201 
Assumed Bluntness . . 201 

Authority 201 

Avarice 115 

Avaricious Age .... 202 
Battle Alarm .... 146 

Battle Array 1.46 

Beauty ... 115, 146, 202 

Bereavement 202^ 

Blindness .... 115, 157 
Boastful Challenge . . 203 
Burial of Sir John Moore, 137 

Charity 115, 203 

Cheerfulness . . . *8$, 203 
Cheerful Piety .... *I57 

Childhood *n6 

Claims of Kindred . . 146 
Close of a Guilty Career 204 
Commentators .... 116 

Confidence 204 

Conflicting Passions, 117, 204 
Consolation in Misfortune, *i57 
Constancy .... 147, 205 
Constancy in Virtue . 85 

Contempt 116 

Contemptuous Fortitude 147 
Contemptuous Reproach 205 
Contentment . . *85, *I57 



Contradiction . . . 
Corruption . . . 

Courage 

Courageous Defeat 
Courteousness . . . 
Courtiers .... 
Cowardly Surrender 
Crafty Advice . . 
Crafty Malignity . . 

Critics 

Death 

Death of Marmion . 
Defiance . . . . 
Desert ..... 



205 
117 
117 
147 
*i 5 8 
147 
147 
206 
206 

*8 5 
206 

. 183 
117, 148 

. *n8 



Desire and Dread of Death, 206 



Page. 

Desire of Distinction . . 86 
Desires Unlimited . . *86 
Despair . . . 118, 148, 207 
Desperate Conflict . . 148 
Disappointed Envy . . 207 
Discrimination .... 118 
Disdainful Scorn . . . 208 

Disgust 208 

Disinterested Love . . 208 
Dissembled Love . . . 208 
Distinctions .... *no. 

Distraction 119 

Distrust 209 

Dominion 119 

Employment .... 86 

Emotions *ii9 

Emulation in Gentility . *209 
Encouragement. . . . 210 
Energetic Effort ... 119 
Envious Contempt . . 210 

Envy 120 

Equality of Men . . . ="158 

Error 148 

Error and Ignorance . . *i58 
Eventful Epochs . . . *76 
Evil Conscience . . . 120 
Evil Speaking .... *I58 
Exalted Misery .... 211 
Exasperation .... 120 

Exculpation 211 

Exercise *8o 

Exhortation against Am- 
bition 212 

Exhortation to Courage 213 

Existence 120 

Ex-Officio Endowments 121 

Experience 121 

Faith 121 

Faithful Prayer .... 159 
Fame 121, 148 

213 

213 

121 

*i 59 

159 

86 

*i6o 

122 

122 

86 

160 



Farewell to Greatness 
Fear of Death . . . 

Fidelity 

Figurative Language 

Flowers 

Forgiveness . . . 
Forgiving Disposition 
Fortitude .... 

Fortune 

Fortune's Frolics 
Fruitless Resolutions 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



Page. 

Grateful Recognition . 160 

Gratitude 214 

Greatness . . . * . 122 

Greed of Praise . . . . 149 

Grief ....... 214 

Guilty Conscience . . . 214 
Hamlet's Soliloquy on 

Death 182 

Hasty Anger .... 86 

Hatred 215 

Hearts 122 

Honesty True Nobility . 215 
Honour . . . . . . *2i5 

Hope Personified . . . 149 

Human Enjoyments . 149 

Human Knowledge . . 149 
Human Life . . . *8 > j, 122 

Human Progress . . . *78 

Human Wretchedness . 123 

Humility *87 

Hunting 149 

If *I23 

Ignorant Criticism . . *2i6 

Imitation *I23 

Incredulous Horror . . 216 

Indifference *2i7 

Indignant Contrast . . 217 
Indignation .... 150, 217 

Industry 87 

Ingratitude 123 

Innocence 87 

Insect Life +124 

Interrogation .... *I24 

Jealousy 217 

Joy 218 

Justification *2i8 

King Lear 150 

Kingly Power .... 125 

Knowledge and Wisdom 160 

Landing of an Army. . 150 

Laughter 218 

Law 150 

Laziness 125 

Leadership 151 

Liberality +87 

Liberty 87 

Life 125 

Light *88 

Lights and Shades . . 125 

Listening 219 

Listening to Distant Music, 219 



Page. 

Living Merit 88 

Lochinvar 180 

Love 88 

Lovers 126 

Lovers' Studies .... *i26 

Lowliness of Mind . . 220 

Ludicrous Distress . . *i26 

Macbeth to the Dagger 192 

Malicious Revenge . . *22o 

Man 126, 161 

Marco Bozzaris .... 194 

Martyrs 126 

Maternal Love .... 220 

Melancholy Reflections 221 

Mercy 221 

Method 127 

Might of Mercy ... 88 

Misdirected Efforts . . 151 

Misery in Royalty . . . 222 

Misfortune 151 

Misfortunes *89 

Moodiness 89 

Mui-der 127 

Music 222 

Music and Language . . 151 

Mutability of Love . . 223 

Mutual Dependence . . *89 

Natural Freedom . . . 223 

Night 89 

Occupation *89 

On Literary Extracts . . *i6i 

Outcry 151 

Parish Common . . . 127 

Parting *i28 

Patriotic Resolve . . . 152 

Peasant Life .... 152 

Perversity 224 

Philosophy and Religion *90 

Pity 224 

Politeness *i6i 

Potency of Courage . . 90 

Poverty 225 

Power of Music. . . . 152 

Prayer 128, 225 

Prayer and Submission . 90 

Progress in Guilt ... 90 

Precedents 152 

Prosperity *I29 

Proud Independence . . 225 

Raving . . . . . . *226 

Reasoning 129 



XVI 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Rebellion 226 

Reflection *i2o. 

Regretful Pity .... *227 
Rejecting Counsel . . . 227 
Remembered Love . . 228 
Remembrance .... 77 
Remonstrance — with In- 
dignation 228 

Remorse for committing 

Murder 228 

Remorse forDrunkenness,*22o. 

Remorseful Horror . . 229 
Reproach with want of 

Friendship 230 

Reproach with want of 

Manliness 230 

Reproach with Stupidity 

and Inconstancy . . . 230 

Reproof of Servility . 231 

Results 129 

Retrospection .... 152 

Revelation *8o 

Ridiculous Deference . 129 

Rustic Logic 184 

Sad Foreboding ... 231 

Sadness of Night ... 90 

Sarcastic Expostulation 232 

Scorn 232 

Second-hand Fame . . 153 

Selfish Hatred .... 232 

Self-Knowledge . . . *90 

Self-Satisfaction . . . 161 

Separation 153 

Shipwreck 153 

Shuffling Refusal . . 233 

Sickness 233 

Signs of Love . . . 130 

Slavery ...... *i3o 

Sleep 153 

Solitude 154 

Sorrow causing Forget- 

fulness 233 

Sounds of an Army . . 154 

Sounds of Morning . . 154 

Sources of Calamity . 90 

Sources of Error . . . *9i 

Spasmodic Emotion . 130 

Stability of Nature . . 78 

Stairs to Marriage . . *i3o 

Standards of Character . 154 

Stern Reproach . . . 234 

Stillness 155 



Page. 

Success 91 

Sullenness 234 

Sunset ...... 79 

Suspicion 235 

Sj r mpathy 130 

Sympathy — with Admir- 
ation 235 

Teachers +132 

Tears 131 

Temper *i62 

Terror *236 

Terrors of Death . . . 236 

The Common Lot . . 91 

The Falling Leaf . . . 132 

The Fine Arts .... *76 

The Firmament ... 77 

The Gospel .... *9i 

The Grave 91 

The Hunted Deer . . 155 

The Passing Chase . . 155 

The Secret of Content . *75 

Thoughts *92 

Thought and Deed . . 41 

Threatened Revenge . . 237 

Ties of Love .... 237 

Time 131, 162 

To the Butterfly ... 162 

True Courage . . . . 132 

True Greatness . . . *75 

Truth . *92 

Tyranny 92 

Tyranny of Vice ... 92 
Uncertainty of To-morrow 92 

Untold Love 237 

Upbraiding with Want 

of Duty 238 

Valour 239 

Variety of Endowments . ^92 

Vegetation 162 

Vengeance 239 

Virtue 93 > 240 

Virtuous Promptitude . 93 

Voices of Night ... 93 

War 74, *93 

Warning 240 

Well-doing 93 

Wisdom *93 

Wisdom of the Deity . . *i32 

Wiseacres 155 

Wit 133, 163 

Woman 94, 133 

Youth 156 



THE 

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



Elocution does not occupy the place it reasonably 
ought to fill in the curriculum of education. The causes 
of this neglect will be found to consist mainly of these 
two : the subject is undervalued, because it is misunder- 
stood ; and it is misunderstood because it is unworthily 
represented in the great majority of books, which take its 
name on their title page ; and, also by the practice of too 
many of its teachers, who make an idle display in Recita- 
tion the chief, if not the only, end of their instruction. 

When we point to the fact, that public speaking is a part 
of the professional duty of every Clergyman and Advo- 
cate, and no unusual part of the social duty of a private 
citizen ; and that Public Speaking involves two distinct 
requirements, — a knowledge of what to say, and how to 
say it ; and when we farther advert to the fact, that in the 
whole course of school and college education, either for 
private citizens or public speakers, only one of these re- 
quirements is systematically provided for, the inadequacy 
of the provision to the requirements cannot but be mani- 
fest. We naturally ask, "why is this?" The reason, 
perhaps, may simply be, that so it is I We are all slaves 
of custom, and cannot, without much difficulty, be brought 
to alter existing arrangements, however unreasonable. 
We are too apt to lazily acquiesce in things as they are, 
however wrong, and passively accept the doctrine that 
" whatever is, is right." 
i 



2 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

But, besides this natural conservatism, this unreason, 
which is the principal cause of the maintenance of all 
error, there is another cause which is indeed a reason for 
the anomaly referred to, although the reason itself will be 
admitted to be unreasonable : a prejudice exists against 
the cultivation of manner in Delivery. Prejudice, — that 
Reason's very opposite, — denounces manner as if it was 
a thing of no matter. "Manner" and "Matter" are 
spoken of as antagonists in Oratory. But what is matter 
without manner? Matter is the native unquarried rock ; 
Manner is the chiseled statue, or the sculptured palace. 
Matter is the chaos " without form and void" when 
" darkness brooded over the face of the earth ; " Manner 
is the rolling globe launched in the flood of light, and 
beautified with hill and dale, ocean and streamlet, herb, 
and tree, and flower. Manner is the manifestation of all 
matter ; and no matter can be known but by the manner 
of its presentment. 

This is equally true of intellectual as of physical ma- 
terial. The matter of the finest oratory may lie hidden 
within the brain, worthless and unappreciated ; as the 
marble of that sweetest creation of the sculptor — the 
" Greek Slave" — lay buried in its native hill, till Powers 
arose that could unveil its symmetry and grace. And it 
depends entirely on the speaker's skill, — his power over 
manner — whether he fashion his matter into a paving 
stone or a Medicean Venus. 

But this prejudice has a moral root from which it de- 
rives all its vitality: — "The eloquence that fascinates 
may be employed to dazzle and seduce. It may be used 
to make the worse appear the better reason." True, but 
the greater the attractiveness of Eloquence for purposes 
of mere amusement, or for more unholy ends, the stronger 
is the reason and the more imperative the duty to master 
its refinements, and utilize its influence in all good and 
sacred causes. 

The adage cannot be too often repeated that whatever 
is worth doing at all, is worth doing well ; and we may 
add, the worthier any object of effort, the higher should 
be the standard of efficient execution. Slovenliness is 
intolerable in the meanest business. How much more 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 3 

so in the highest, and especially in that which has an aim 
beyond all earthly objects ! 

But by whom is this prejudice entertained? Who are 
they that shake the head at oratorical refinement in the 
pulpit, and denounce preparatory study of" manner" as 
* • theatrical ? " Are they the eloquent of the Church, the 
ornaments of their profession, speakers refined by culture, 
or endowed with natural powers of eloquence ? No ! 
They are those only who are themselves destitute of any 
pretensions to effectiveness. No man who is conscious 
of the ability to speak effectively can undervalue the 
power, and none w r ho is not competent in this respect, 
can judge of its value or pronounce it worthless. 

The studv of Oratory is, however, hindered by another 
prejudice, founded — too justly — on the ordinary methods 
and results of elocutionary teaching ; the methods being 
unphilosophical and trivial, and their result not an im- 
proved manner, but an induced mannerism . The principle 
of instruction to which Elocution owes its meanness of 
reputation may be expressed in one word, — Imitation. 
The teacher presents his pupils with a model or specimen 
of reading or declamation, and calls on them to stand forth 
and do likewise. The model may be good, bad, or indif- 
ferent ; it is, at all events, tinged with the teacher's own 
peculiarities, and the pupils, in their imitative essays, can 
hardly be expected to distinguish between these accidents 
of style and the essentials of good delivery which may 
be embodied in the model. Thus, becoming accustomed 
to imitate the former, they naturally confound them with 
the latter. Each pupil, too, has his own peculiarities, 
already more or less developed — arising from structural 
differences in the organs of speech, from temperament, or 
from habit, — the result of previous training or of previous 
neglect. These fixed idiosyncrasies and tendencies, min- 
gled with the imitated peculiarities, form a compound 
style, which, whatever its qualities, can hardly fail to be 
unnatural. Besides, as imitation is in a great degree an 
unconscious act, habits are thus formed of the existence 
of which the subject of them is entirely ignorant. In no 
other way can we account for those monstrous perversions 
of style which are so common, and so patent to all but, 



4 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

apparently, the speakers themselves. The very purpose 
of a philosophical system of instruction should be — to give 
us a standard by which to measure our own shortcomings 
and, primarily, by which we can discover them. 

But it may be urged by adherents of the imitative 
methods of instruction, that they do not teach by imita- 
tion alone ; that they teach by Rule, and merely illustrate 
rules by their model readings, in imitating which the pu- 
pils consciously apply the rules. There has been far too 
much of this teaching by "Rules" in all departments of 
education. The rules of nature are few and simple, at 
the same time extensive and obvious in their application. 
These are Principles rather than rules, and it is the 
highest business of philosophy to find out such. Princi- 
ples atone are worthy of the student's care. These he 
cannot too perfectly " learn and con by rote." But the 
rules of elocutionary books are not of this kind. The 
latter are cumbersome in number, limited in application 
to certain forms of grammatical construction, and very 
far from obvious in their use. Some principle must be 
involved in every rule. Rules are but logical deductions 
from understood principles ; and, often, a single principle 
will be found to underlie a whole category of rules. If 
Principles are understood, the mind will deduce rules for 
itself, but the knowledge of the most elaborate code of 
rules may be possessed without acquaintance w T ith a sin- 
gle principle. Besides, in actual practice, rules cannot 
be applied. They keep the mind in leading-strings which 
prevent self-effort, and destroy natural freedom, being 
rather fetters than assistances to one who has learned to 
walk alone. For instance, a certain movement of voice 
implies incompleteness of statement, and its mechanical 
opposite implies completeness. A knowledge of this sim- 
ple Principle involves at once a knowledge of more than 
half the rules for Inflexion with which Elocutionists have 
bewildered their students. The mind can grasp this 
principle and carry it along without effort through all the 
complexities and involutions of composition ; but if, in- 
stead of this, the student is made to learn all the possible 
arrangements of words in sentences, and to apply a separate 
4 ' Rule " for each new form, he can never bring his rules into 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 5 

spontaneous application. He may apply them, or fancy 
that he applies them, in the reading of selected sentences, 
but beyond this he cannot carry them a step without feel- 
ing them an incumbrance and a hindrance to mental 
action. Constant thinking of inflection proves fatal to 
reflection. What a student chiefly requires to know, is 
how\.o vary his voice ; if his own judgement and apprecia- 
tion of the sense, in connection with defined principles, 
do not inform him when to do so, the most minute direc- 
tion by Rules will be of little service. The mechanics 
of expression are what he must master, if he w r ould use 
and manifest his mind in reading ; but he must be unfet- 
tered in their application, in order that he may develop 
and improve his manner without acquiring the formality 
of mannerism. 

Elocutionary Exercise is popularly supposed to consist 
merely of Recitation, and the fallacy is kept up both in 
schools and colleges, where Elocution is said not to be 
wholly neglected, because an hour is occasionally set apart 
for a competitive display of the declamatory powers of the 
pupils or students. This is a miserable trifling with an 
art of such importance. — an art that embraces the whole 
Science of Speech, as well as sentimental expression. 
With as much justice might it be said that music was 
attended to, if a class were called on once or twice a 
week, or half a dozen times a session, to whistle a popu- 
lar air in competition for a prize. Music is both a Science 
and an Art. So is Elocution ; and such an amount of at- 
tention as is limited to the occasional " spouting" of pas- 
sages learned anywhere or anyhow, is to Elocution merely 
what whistling is to music. The cultivated orators of old 
esteemed Delivery the chief of all the arts of Oratory, and 
they "being dead vet speak to us : " and they should do so 
with authority, for the letter of their eloquence is still the 
model in our colleges. We admire the orations of Demos- 
thenes : so did contemporary judges ; but they tell us that 
truly to appreciate these compositions we must have heard 
them ! How would the Grecian ' ' Thunderer " esteem our 
modern wisdom, in practically reversing, as we do, the rel- 
ative importance of writing and of speaking well ! Ora- 
tory, doubtless, is not now an art of such high consequence 



6 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

as it was before the invention of the printing press, and the 
general diffusion of knowledge through its blessed agency; 
but the sphere of oratorical influence, though narrowed, is 
yet large, and within that sphere the value of an effective 
Delivery is as preponderating as it ever was. 

Oratory was of old a very comprehensive subject, and 
its study was the labour of a life. It included almost every 
department of general knowledge, and mental and moral 
discipline, as well as Pronunciation, or what we now call 
Elocution or Delivery. The latter department was the one 
most sedulously cultivated, as being that on which all the 
rest depended for successful exhibition. Hoary hairs were 
considered indispensable to the consummate orator, that 
his manner might be duly refined with that art which hides 
itself; and also because his laborious preparations were 
supposed to require the length and vigour of the youth and 
* prime of life. Consistently with this, Oratory was em- 
blematized under the figure of an Old Man, threads of 
amber issuing from his lips, and winding into the ears of 
deferential auditors. Our modern orators expect to jump 
into the rostrum and oratorical ability at once, and with- 
out preparation even for the primary requisite of public 
speaking — distinct Pronunciation. They expect to find 
the amber in their mouths, born with them ; — like Dog- 
berry, who thought that "to write and read comes by na- 
ture." They expect to drop the native substance from their 
lips — as the princess in the fairy tale did pearls — at every 
opening. But men are not orators by birth, and the am- 
ber of eloquence is seldom found save as the rich deposit 
of assuetude and science. 

Elocution may be defined as the effective expres- 
sion of thought and sentiment, by Speech, Intona- 
tion, and Gesture. Speech is wholly conventional in its 
expressiveness, and mechanical in its processes. Intona- 
tion and gesture constitute a Natural Language, which 
may be used either independently of, or as assistant to, 
speech. Speech, in all the diversities of tongues and dia- 
lects, consists of but a small number of articulated element- 
ary sounds. These are produced by the agency of the lungs, 
the larynx, and the mouth. The lungs supply air to the 
larynx, which modifies the stream into whisper or voice ; 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. >j 

and this air is then moulded by the plastic oral organs into 
syllables, which, singly or in accentual combinations, con- 
stitute words. These words are arbitrarily appropriated 
to the expression of ideas, and thus we have Language, — 
variously intelligible in every community, but the same in 
its elements, throughout the world. 

Elocution, as it involves the exercise of language, must 
embrace the Physiology of Speech — the mechanics of vo- 
calization and articulation. A knowledge of the conven- 
tional meanings of words is of course also implied, but 
this may be obtained independently of Elocution, in the 
modern sense of the term . The student of Elocution, then, 
should be made acquainted with the instrument of speech, 
as an instrument, that all its parts may be under his con- 
trol, as the stops, the keys, the pedals, and the bellows, 
are subject to the organist. These principles of Instru- 
mentation are equally applicable to all languages, and the 
student who has mastered them, in connection with his 
vernacular tongue, will apply them to the pronunciation 
of any foreign language with which he may become ac- 
quainted. 

Elocution has also a special application to the language 
or dialect employed, that the elements and vocables of 
each may be pronounced according to its own standard 
of correctness ; — that being correct in one which is incor- 
rect in another. Thus, in the elocution of the northern 
British, the Irish, the New England and other American 
dialects of our tongue — for all dialects may have their elo- 
cution, or effective utterance — the vowels a and o, and the 
letter r. have different pronunciations from those which 
obtain in the southern dialects of England. The student 
of elocution should be capable of discriminating these and 
all similar differences. He should not be enslaved to the 
peculiarities of any dialect ; he may, when occasion re- 
quires, speak English like an Englishman, Scotch like a 
Scotchman, and Irish like an Irishman ; but his reading 
should not be imbued with the characteristics of Irish, of 
Scotch, or of any local pronunciation, when he delivers 
the language of Shakespeare, of Milton, or of Addison. 

The differences that distinguish dialects are quite sus- 
ceptible of assimilation to any standard. Just as a piece 



O INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

of music can, by a skilful player, be transposed in execu- 
tion to a different key from that in which it is written, so 
language can, by one skilled in the characteristics of dia- 
lects, be transposed in pronunciation from one dialect 
into another. 

But local peculiarities manifest themselves in varieties 
of intonation as well as of syllabic pronunciation. As 
the tones of speech have all a natural expressiveness, 
there is rarely any difficulty in acquiring command over 
them. The "science of sweet sounds" can only be 
effectively studied by those who have "an ear" for 
music, but the expressive tones of speech can be distin- 
guished and efficiently executed, even by those who are 
destitute of the musical faculty. This department of elo- 
cutionary discipline is of high importance, as it involves 
the exercise of much judgement in discriminating the 
analogies of sound to sense. 

The peculiarities of tone, which characterize dialects, 
consist, for the most part, of repetitions of the same 
species of inflexion, clause 'following clause in a sort of 
tune, which prevails merely by the force of habit. The 
voice of every individual is apt to partake too much of a 
uniformity of melody ; but we have no difficulty in un- 
derstanding the intention of the speaker, notwithstanding 
the sameness or the habitual fluctuations of his tones. 
This proves the folly of attempting, by any set of Rules, 
to impose a system of intonation as a standard for all 
voices. There is scarcely a sentence which will not 
admit of just expression by half a dozen, or ten times as 
many, modes of vocal inflexion. What is wanted is not a 
Rule for this or that species of sentence, but a «power 
over the voice generally, to redeem it from monotony ; a 
knowledge of the various modes of conveying sense ; and 
an appreciation of the special sense to be conveyed. To 
aim at anything more than this would be to destroy the 
speaker's individuality, and to substitute formality and 
mannerism for versatility of natural manner. In refer- 
ence to inflexion, elocutionary training has for its object 
mechanical facility, and definiteness of execution, rather 
than uniformity of application. It is the mistake of Mr. 
Walker's, and all similar Rules, that they tend to produce 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 9 

the latter result only ; one which is neither desirable nor 
strictly possible, — which is, in fact, unnatural. 

Inflexion is associated with accent, or emphatic stress, 
and this is regulated by the sense to be conveyed. The 
laws of emphasis form a study of the highest intellectual 
value, which has been too little investigated and systema- 
tized. No department of Elocution can compare with 
this in importance ; yet not only has it been superseded 
in books, by unnecessary Rules for Inflexion, and in 
schools by thoughtless imitation, but these rules, and all 
exercise founded on them, constantly violate the laws of 
accent. Here is one point in which almost absolute uni- 
formity must prevail among all good readers. Set prac- 
tice right in respect to emphasis, and inflexion cannot 
go far wrong. 

Every sentence or clause is susceptible of various mean- 
ings, according as its different words are rendered promi- 
nent by emphasis. " There will always be some word 
or words more necessary to be understood than others. 
Those things which have been previously stated, or which 
are necessarily implied, or with which we presume our 
hearers to have been preacquainted, we pronounce with 
such a subordination of stress as is suitable to the small 
importance of things already understood ; while those of 
which our hearers have not been before informed, or 
which they might possibly misconceive, are enforced 
with such an increase of stress, as makes it impossible 
for the hearers to overlook or mistake them. Thus, as 
it were in a picture, the more essential parts of a sentence 
are raised from the level of speaking, and the less neces- 
sary are, at the same time, sunk into a comparative 
obscurity ! " * 

How awkwardly ambiguous is the reading of those 
who have no principle to guide them in the selection of 
emphasis, — the distribution of the light and shade of 
speech ! One verse of Scripture — a peculiarly difficult 
one to hap-hazard readers — is rarely delivered correctly. 
This is the 25th verse of the 24th chapter of the Gospel 
by Luke : — "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all 

* 4i Practical Elocutionist." London, 1842. 



IO INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

that the prophets have spoken !" The reproof conveyed 
here is that the disciples addressed were " slow to be- 
lieve ; " but, by a faulty clausing of the sentence, sepa- 
rating these allied words, and a misplaced emphasis, 
precisely the opposite censure seems to be intended : " O 
fools, and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets 
have spoken." 

It is the business of Elocution to teach the student three 
things important to be known : ist, How to discover all 
the meanings that any passage may embody ; 2nd, How 
to express the several meanings, supposing each of them 
to be just ; and, 3rd, How to ascertain the true interpre- 
tation, or the sense intended by the author. In all these 
processes, and especially in the last, much judgement will 
manifestly be required. Indeed, it may be questioned 
whether any study is more directly calculated to exercise 
the mind in all its faculties than the investigation of the 
precise meaning of a standard author. It is true that the 
critical acumen to appreciate the sense mav be possessed 
without the ability to express it ; and herein is manifest 
the necessity of vocal training, to give the judicious inter- 
preter a command over the mechanics of expression, that 
he may 4 ' make the sound an echo to the sense." 

The succession of the accents in sentences constitutes 
what is called Rhythm. This succession is regular in 
metrical composition, and irregular in prose. The regu- 
larity of rhythmus in poetry, while it favours a musical 
delivery, is very apt to lead the voice into a tuneful move- 
ment, where music is not intended ; and the result is that 
nauseating intermixture of the tones of speaking and of 
singing which is denoted canting or sing-song. There can 
be no doubt that the school methods of scanning, and of 
reading poetry by the line, are directly productive of this 
worst and most prevailing oratorical taint. It is but rarely 
that a reader can be found whose voice is entirely free 
from this blemish ; and the habit is speedily extended from 
poetry to prose, so that the expressive irregularity of pro- 
saic rhythm is entirely lost in the uniformity of time to 
which the reader's voice is set. Pinned, as it were, on 
the barrel of an organ, his accents come precisely in the 
same place at every sentential revolution, striking their 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. II 

emphasis, at one turn, upon a pronoun or a conjunction, 
and. at another, impinging sonorously on an article or 
an expletive. 

" 'Tis education forms the infant mind ; 

Just as the twig is bent, the tree 's inclined." 

The little green twigs in the Grammar School are sedu- 
lously bent into the barrel-organ shape, and pegged to 
play their destined tune by systematic teaching ; and when 
the tiny twig-barrel has swelled into a full-grown cylinder, 
and rolls forth its cadences in far-sounding pitch, the old 
pegs are still there, striking the old chords in the old way. 

What have children, or men either, to do. in reading, 
with trochees, iambi, dactyls, amphibrachs, or anapaests? 
They are all pests together. Scanning, or the art of 
dividing verse into the i4 feet" of which it is composed, 
is a practice that should not be left " a foot to stand upon." 
It confounds every element of natural pronunciation, call- 
ing long •• short," and short " long ;" separating the sylla- 
bles of the same word, and uniting the syllables of different 
words, in a way that would be almost too monstrous for 
belief, were we not so habituated to the " scanning " art 
from our earliest i; twig "-hood, that, we have great diffi- 
culty in scanning its full stupiditv. While this wretched 
pedantry is taught in our schools, so long must our pul- 
pits bring forth the normal increase of such seed, in sing- 
song, drawling, and unnaturalness. 

The subject of Rhvthmus has been involved in much 
obscurity by the way in which writers have treated of it ; 
and even Elocutionists have been so far misled under the 
influence of early education, as to adapt their reading ex- 
ercises to the accustomed measures, and divide their sen- 
tences into bars of equal time. It is difficult to characterize 
the folly of such divisions as the following, quoted from 
a well-known work : — 

" While the | stormy | tempest | blows 
While the | battle | rages | long and | loud." 

" Where is my j cabin door | fast by the i wild wood? 
Sisters and | sire [ *did you j mourn for its | fall?" 

These bars are terrible bars to progress in the art of 
reading— barriers of nonsense in the way of sense ! 



12 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

The marks of punctuation are taught in schools as 
measures of the pauses in reading. Children are told to 
stop at all the " stops," and only at the stops, and to pro- 
portion their stopping to the supposed time-value of the 
stops. But the marks of punctuation have no relation to 
time ; nor are they at all intended to regulate the pauses 
of a reader. They have a purpose, but it is not this. 
They do, in the majority of cases, occur where pauses 
should be made, but they do not supply nearly the number 
of pauses that good reading requires. They simply mark 
the grammatical construction of a sentence. While word 
follows word in strict grammatical relation, no comma is 
inserted, though many pauses may be indispensable ; and 
wherever any break occurs in the grammatical relation 
of proximate words, there a comma is written, though, 
often, a pause would spoil the sense. Commas are placed 
before and after all interpolations that separate related 
words — adjective and noun, adverb and adjective, pronoun 
and verb, verb and object, &c. ; — but they are not written 
while words follow each other in direct and mutual re- 
lation. Punctuation has thus no reference to delivery ; 
it has no claim to regulate reading ; and nothing but ig- 
norance of a better guide could have led to the adoption 
of the grammatical points to direct the voice in pausing. 

Some writer has happily expressed the principle of 
pausing in a metrical form, which is worth committing 
to memory, although the reader will find something more 
definite in the section on "Verbal Grouping:" 

" In pausing, ever let this rule take place, 
Never to separate words, in any case, 
That are less separable than those you join; 
And, which imports the same, not to combine 
Such words together as do not relate 
So closely as the words you separate." 

The subject of Antithesis and the relation of antithesis 
to emphasis, is one in which the Rules of Elocutionists 
are not only superseded by a fundamental law, but in 
which the rules are often at variance with the natural 
Principle. There is a grand distinction in the expressive- 
ness of the tones of speech, which has been insufficiently 
attended to. The vocal inflexions are primarily two, — 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 13 

an upward and a downward movement. These express 
the sentiments of appeal to the hearer, in the rising move- 
ment, and of assertion from the speaker, in the falling 
turn. The union of these simple movements with one 
accent, or impulse of stress, produces two compound 
tones, which express the same sentiments with a sugges- 
tive reference to the antithesis of the utterance, No 
great observation was necessary to discover that all em- 
phasis implies antithesis ; but Elocutionists have jumped 
to the conclusion that the converse of this principle must 
needs be likewise true, and that all antithesis implies em- 
phasis. As if, because every potato is undoubtedly a 
vegetable, every vegetable must of course be a potato ! 
Upon this false assumption, rules for the inflexion of an- 
tithetic sentences have been founded, which led to a con- 
stant up and down alternation of the voice on opposed 
words, than which nothing can be more at variance with 
the natural law of emphasis, or with its invariable mani- 
festation in the spontaneous utterance of conversation. It 
is only when verbal opposition is inferred and not fully 
expressed, that we have a genuine instance of the figure 
of Antithesis, and nature has provided us with a distinc- 
tive intonation by which the antithetic idea may be un- 
mistakeably suggested. When the opposition is complete 
in terms, the tones of antithesis are not required, and the 
emphasis follows the general law, by which the idea new 
to the context, or uppermost in the speaker's mind, is 
rendered prominent by mere accentual stress, and with 
simple tones. It is no less true in Elocution than in 
physics, that the brightest light casts the deepest shadow. 
The light of emphasis on any word throws a shade of 
subordination on all allied words, the darker and more 
concealing in proportion to the lustre of the emphasis. 
Among speakers whose tones are adjusted by artificial 
rules, we look in vain for this " night side of nature," this 
shadow of the illuminated thought. Each word of every 
contrasted pair of words is thrown mechanically into equal 
prominence,, with the effect expressed by Pope in his 
*' Essav on criticism : " 

" False eloquence, like the prismatic glass, 
Its gaudy colours spreads on every place." 



14 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

We may follow out the Poet's idea, and add a converse 
couplet : — 

True eloquence the lens's part must play, 
And blend the colours in one focal ray. 

With many speakers who aim at being emphatic with- 
out knowing how to be so, every leading ^ra??zmatlcal 
word — noun and verb, — or every qualifying word — 
adjective and adverb — is delivered with an intensity of 
stress which defeats its own object, and is as destitute of 
intelligent effect as that tame and drawling monotony in 
which others indulge, where nothing rises above the level 
of constant dulness. Words are emphatic or otherwise, 
not in virtue of their inherent grammatical rank, but of 
the relation they bear to each other in the context. The 
discriminating principle which marks this relation is called 
accent in reference to combinations of syllables, emphasis 
in reference to groups of words, and modulation in ref- 
erence to successions of sentences. But it is the same 
art in all its applications, governed by the same intellectual 
perception of relative proportion and comparative im- 
portance. 

The student is now referred to the body of the Work 
for a full development of Principles. Enough has been 
said here to prove that Elocutionary Art is something 
more than merely imitative ; that it has more intellectual 
exercises than the sentimental declamations usually asso- 
ciated with the name ; and that, if it has been encumbered 
with useless Rules, it is not destitute of guiding Principles. 



DIRECTIONS FOR USING THIS WORK. 
To the Private Student. 

When you consult a Teacher for instruction in Elocu- 
tion, your attention is, for the time, limited to special 
points — those in which your delivery requires correction, 
or those to which the Teacher gives precedence. The 
duly-qualified instructor is, of course, competent to direct 
his pupils in any of the departments of his art ; but he 
does not, in every case, allow his lessons to range over 
all departments. 

In this Book you have a teacher — prepared to give 
instruction in Theory, or direction in Exercise, in any 
department of the Art of Delivery : but you must, in order 
to self-improvement, do for yourself what you cannot 
avoid under the living teacher — namely, confine your 
attention, at first, to those points in which you specially 
need help, and overlook all else till they are mastered. 

There is a great art in learning even from the best of 
teachers. Some pupils will draw out precisely what they 
require, and profit rapidly ; others — " receptive" only, — 
will, from a longer period of instruction, derive much less 
advantage. The art of learning from a Book is of course 
still more dependent on the student himself. The secret 
of success is undoubtedly the same in both cases : attend 

EXCLUSIVELY TO ONE POINT AT A TIME. 

A cursory examination of the whole ground of study is 
sometimes advantageous as a preliminary, — especially 
when it is undertaken merely to assist in the selection of a 
Department for exercise ; — but a desultory perusal of a 
practical work — on such a practical subject as elocution — 
can lead to no satisfactory result. Therefore : — Treat this 
Book as a viva voce Teacher : Give heed exclusively to 
the section before you : Practise the exercises prescribed, 
and look neither backward nor forward until you have 
mastered the Lesson in hand. 

Do you belong to either of the following classes of 
speakers ? 

I. Your voice is feeble— it is smothered — it is strained 
— you are soon fatigued by vocal effort — you become 
hoarse — breathless — giddy — the muscles of your throat, 
chest, abdomen, are rendered sore by public speaking. — 



l6 DIRECTIONS, &C. 

For you, until you have changed these characteristics, 
this Book has only one lesson — the management of 
Respiration. 

II. Your pronunciation is faulty — it is indistinct — it 
slurs syllables — it is peculiar in some element — it is pro- 
vincial — it is foreign — it is guttural — it is nasal. — Study 
first the details of Vowels, Articulation, and Accent- 
uation. 

III. Your tones are unvaried — they are limited to a 
narrow range — they are tunefully recurrent — they are 
vaguely meandering — they are screechy — they are croaky 
— they are drawling. — Begin with the mastery of In- 
flexion. 

IV. Your reading is governed by sentences — by breath- 
limits — in poetry by lines — your pauses by the marks of 
punctuation — your primary and secondary clauses are 
undiscriminated. — Study Sentential Analysis and the 
principles of Clausing and Pausing. 

V. Your delivery is ponderous — it is flippant — it is 
rhythmical — it is uniform — it is pointless. — Commence 
with the principles of Emphasis. 

VI. Your general style is dull — it fails to arrest atten- 
tion — it is harsh — it is unsympathetic. — Begin with 
Modulation and Emotive Expression. 

VII. Your action is awkward — it is angular — it is stiff 
— it is jerking — it is repetitive — it is indefinite. Study 
first the section on Gesture. 

VIII. You feel yourself to be ineffective, but are not 
conscious of the particulars in which you fail. — Learn 
the Notations of Inflexion and Expression, and read 
the notated and emphasized passages, until you acquire a 
definite knowledge of the source of your ineffectiveness ; 
for consciousness of a fault is the necessary preliminary 
to its correction. 

IX. You simply desire to understand the subject as a 
matter of interest ; or you wish to master it for the pur- 
pose of teaching. — Begin at the beginning and go through 

THE WHOLE WORK. 

The previous editions of this ' ' Manual " have met with 
many appreciative and successful disciples. This finally 
revised edition should prove even more widely useful to 
new generations of Elocutionary students. 



THE 



PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION. 



PART FIRST. 



PRONUNCIATION. 



* 



I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

1. Speech is the audible result of a combination of 
mechanical processes, separately under the government 
of volition, and conventionally expressive of ideas. 

2. As, in learning to play upon an instrument of music, 
it is indispensable to be practically acquainted with its 
mechanical principles, so, in studying the Art of Speech, 
it is of consequence that the learner be familiar with the 
structure and working of the instrument of Speech. 

3. But this important fundamental knowledge is not 
anatomical in its nature. The pianist does not require 
to understand the arrangement of the interior of his in- 
strument, — its pegs and wires, and hammers and dampers 
— but to be familiar with its keys, and with the principles 
of digital transition, so that he may gallop over its gamuts 
without stop or stumble. The violinist does not need to 
know the details of shape and fastening of the parts of 
the fiddle-frame, but he must have perfect acquaintance 
with the working of the pegs, the stopping of the strings, 
and the drawing of the bow. The flutist does not require 
any knowledge of the arts of turning and boring the 
block from which his instrument is formed, or of the 
mathematical calculations and nice relative measurements 
which regulate the holing ; but he must thoroughly un- 
derstand how to blow, to tongue, and to "govern the 
ventages," so as to make it " discourse its eloquent music." 
And so, the Speaker does not require to learn of how 
many, and of what muscles and cartilages the larynx is 

2 



lb PRONUNCIATION RESPIRATION. 

formed, and by what sets of" motors" and " antagonists" 
the various organs of speech are influenced : such knowl- 
edge may be a welcome addition to his stock of informa- 
tion, but he cannot bring it into any practical use in 
speaking. He should, however, comprehend clearly the 
dynamic principles of the vocal instrument, and the me- 
chanical means by which the various sounds and articu- 
lations of speech are produced and modified. 

4. The instrument of speech combines the qualities of 
a wind and of a stringed instrument : voice being produced 
by means of a current of air impelled from a sort of bel- 
lows — the lungs — and modified by contraction or expansion 
of the voice-channels, and by tension or relaxation of the 
vibrating membranes. 

5. The speaking machine, while thus resembling in 
certain points the organ and the violin, is characteristically 
distinct from all instruments of music in its unique appa- 
ratus of Articulation ; which embraces the pharynx; 
the nares or nostrils ; the palates, soft and hard ; the 
tongue; the teeth; and the lips. 

6. In the management of the Breath, and of the Organs 
of Articulation, lie the mechanical principles with which 
the speaker should be practically familiar, in order to en- 
able him to use his oratorical powers healthfully, in 
energetic and protracted efforts, and with ease, grace, and 
precision at all times. 

7. Elocution, or Delivery, comprehends, besides the 
principles of salutary respiration, distinct articulation, 
and correct pronunciation, those of mental and emotional 
Expressiveness, by tones, gestures, &c. 

8. Regulating the Expressive, as well as the Articula- 
tive departments of Elocution, are various mechanical 
principles with which the student should be experimentally 
familiar, that he may be gracefully effective in every 
effort ; in nothing giving offence to the eye or ear or taste, 
or " o'erstepping the modesty of nature." 



II. PRINCIPLES OF RESPIRATION. 

9. Speech consists of variously modified c??iissions of 
breath. Breath is thus the material of Speech. The 



RESPIRATION. 19 

lungs must, therefore, be well supplied with air be- 
fore speech is commenced, and they must be kept so 
supplied during the whole progress of speech. The very 
common fault of dropping the voice feebly at the end of 
a sentence, arises in great measure from a faulty habit of 
respiration : and many personal inconveniences, some- 
times painful and serious, accrue to the speaker, from 
insufficient, too infrequent, or ill-managed respiration. 

10. The amount of air ordinarily inspired for vital 
wants is quite insufficient for vocal purposes. Speech 
must be preceded by a deeper than common inspiration, 
and sustained by replenishments of more than common 
frequency. 

1 1 . The lungs are supplied with air by the expansion 
of the cavity of- the chest ; and they are made to yield the 
air they contain by its contraction from the pressure of its 
walls and base. 

12. The cavity of the chest is conical in form, tapering 
from its muscular base, — the diaphragm, — by the ribs 
and clavicle to the windpipe. 

13. The chest is expanded by the bulging of the ribs, 
the raising of the clavicle (or breast-bone) , and the de- 
scent or flattening of the diaphragm. Expiration may be 
produced either by means of the bony frame-work, or of 
the muscular base of the chest. The latter is the correct 
mode of vocal expiration ; the former is exhausting, and 
often injurious in its consequences. 

14. Too much importance cannot be attached to the 
formation of a habit of easy respiration. The walls of 
the chest should not be allowed to fall in speaking, but 
the whole force of expiration should be confined to the 
diaphragm. Clavicular respiration is the prevailing error 
of those who find speaking or reading laborious. When 
the respiration is properly conducted, vocal exercise 
should be unfatiguing even though long continued ; and 
the longer it is practised the more should it be conducive 
to health. 

15. The inspirations in speaking must be noiseless. 
Audible suction of air is as unnecessary as it is ungrace- 
ful. To avoid this fault, let th« passage to the lungs be 
but open, and expand the chest ; the pressure of the 



20 RESPIRATION. 

atmosphere will then inflate the lungs to the full extent 
of the cavity created within the thorax. 

1 6. The common Scotch bagpipe gives an excellent 
illustration of the comparative efficacy of a partial, and 
of a complete inflation of the lungs. See the piper, when 
the bag is only half filled, tuning the long drones : — how 
his arm jerks on the wind-bag ! — And hear the harsh and 
uneven notes that come jolting out from the pressure ! 
Then see him, when the sheep-skin is firmly swelled 
beneath his arm : — how gently his elbow works upon it ! 
while the clear notes ring out with ear-splitting emphasis. 
Let the public speaker learn hence an important lesson. 
He but plays upon an instrument. Let him learn to use 
it rationally — in consciousness, at least, of the mechanical 
principles of the apparatus. For, as the instrument of 
speech is more perfect than anything the hand of man 
has fashioned, it surely must, when properly handled, be 
" easier to be played on than a pipe ! " 

17. There is an important point of difference, however, 
between the human speaking machine and artificial wind 
instruments like the bagpipe or organ. These latter have 
separate passages for the entrance and exit of the air, 
while the instrument of speech has but one channel by 
which the air is received and delivered. Through the 
aperture of the glottis,* all the breath must pass both in 
inhalation and exhalation. These acts must therefore be 
alternate, and cannot possibly take place at the same 
time ; while, in playing on artificial instruments, the air 
is both drawn in and expelled simultaneously by separate 
apertures. 

18. Speaking being an expenditure of breath, pausing 
must be regularly alternate with utterance, to supply the 
waste of breath. The speaker must not exhaust his 
stock before he takes a further supply, but he must aim 

* The Glottis is the narrow aperture of the trachea or wind- 
pipe, situated behind the root of the tongue. Its action in closing 
or opening the passage to the lungs may be felt in coughing. 
The effort that precedes the cough shuts the glottis, by contact 
of its edges ; and the explosive ejection of breath in the cough 
arises from the sudden opening of the glottis by the separation 
of its edges. 



RESPIRATION EXERCISES. 21 

at keeping up a constant sufficiency, by repeated inhala- 
tions. This is the principle which the bagpipe teaches. 
The most momentary pause will be found long enough 
to give opportunity for adding to the contents of the 
chest easily and imperceptibly. 

19. A clear sonorous voice uses comparatively little 
breath : consequently the purer the voice the easier the 
utterance. The chest would be uncomfortably distended 
if the unexpended breath were held in at pauses. Pauses 
should therefore be synonymous with change of breath. 

20. In addition to the power and ease that are gained 
by a proper management of the respiration, the speaker 
derives the further advantage of a good carriage of the 
bust. This contributes in no slight degree to give the 
young orator a feeling of confidence in addressing an 
audience. Fear naturally collapses, and courage expands 
the chest ; and the cultivation of the habit of keeping the 
chest expanded in speech imparts courage, and prevents 
that perturbation of the breathing which bashfulness and 
diffidence occasion to the unpractised speaker. 



Respiratory Exercises. 

21 . To gain the power of fully and quickly inflating the 
lungs the following exercise will be useful. Prolong the 
simple vowel sounds musically to the full extent of expi- 
ratory power : silently replenishing the lungs and recom- 
mencing the sound as expeditiously as possible. The 
voice should begin softly, swell out vigorously, and then 
" knit sound to silence," by the most gentle termination. 
Thus : 

<> <> <> <> 

e ah aw oo, &c. 

After a little practice the sound should be continued 
clearly for the space of from 25 to upwards of 30 seconds. 
This exercise is equally advantageous to the singer as to 
the speaker. 

22. The same principle of exercise in connection with 
articulation may be obtained in counting. Pronounce 
the numbers from one to a hundred, deliberately and dis- 
tinctly, with as few breathings as possible. Note the 



^L 



22 RESPIRATION VOCALIZATION. 

numbers after which the breath is inspired, and compare 
the results of the exercise at different times. 

23. To gain the power of keeping the chest expanded 
and the lungs well filled, by frequent and imperceptible 
inspirations, the following exercise will be of service : — 
After due preparatory elevation of the chest, pronounce 
a long series of numbers with a gentle and instantaneous 
expansion of the chest before each number ; and con- 
tinue the exercise for some minutes at a time, without a 
single pause for breathing. This may be found difficult 
and laborious at first, but practice will speedily impart 
facility. 

24. These respiratory exercises will be found of the 
highest utility in cases of contracted chest or weak 
lungs. Persons engaged in sedentary occupations, the 
dyspeptic, and the convalescent, would find in them gym- 
nastics of the most salutary nature, without leaving the 
office or the chamber. 

25. To strengthen weak respiration the practice of en- 
ergetic reading in a strong loud whisper, or " gruff" 
voice, will prove beneficial. Above all, exercise in the 
open air will be found of advantage. The ancient rhet- 
oricians practised declamation while walking or running 
up a hillside before breakfast, or standing by the sea-shore, 
face to the wind, and endeavoring to out-bellow the 
tempest. 

26. Respiratory exercises should not be practised im- 
mediately after a full meal. The distension of the stomach 
prevents the free play of the diaphragm. The public 
speaker should therefore be sparing before any important 
oratorical effort, and defer making up the deficiency until 
he has made his bow to the audience. 



III. PRINCIPLES OF VOCALIZATION. 



27. Voice is the name given to that sound which is 
formed in the Larynx,* by the passage of the compressed 

*The Larnyx is that cartilaginous box-like structure which 
surmounts the trachea, causing the protuberance in front of the 
neck, known as '-Adam's apple." Its aperture is a lengthened 
slit, the upper extremity of which is called the superior glottis, 
and the lower the inferior glottis. 



VOCALIZATION. 23 

air from the lungs, through the contiguous edges of the 
glottis. It being important that the student should clearly 
understand the mechanical formation of voice, we offer 
the following simple and homely illustrations. 

28. The principle on which vocal sound is formed is the 
same as that by which a blade of grass or a slip of ribbon 
is made to produce a sound by being placed between the 
lips while the breath is strongly impinged against them. 
But the most perfect imitation of voice, as well as the 
most exact imitation of the laryngeal aperture — the glot- 
tis — is obtained by the approximation of two fingers, say 
the fore and middle fingers of the left hand, holding them 
nearly to the middle joints in the right hand, and forcing 
the breath between their moistened edges. The aperture 
thus obtained between the fingers, from the knuckles to 
the next joints, is of about the same size as that of the 
glottis ; and the sound produced by the vibration of its 
edges, remarkably resembles glottal voice, and exemplifies 
many of the vocal principles. Comparative openness of 
the aperture produces grave sounds, and contraction, acute 
sounds : slackness of its edges causes huskiness or whis- 
per, and tension gives clearness and purity of tone. A 
knowledge of these principles should assist the speaker 
in correcting habits of defective or impure sonorousness 
of voice. 

29. Variations of Pitch in the voice are thus produced 
by variations in the condition and dimensions of the glot- 
tis. Something, too, depends on the elevation or depres- 
sion of the whole larynx ; as we see coarsely exemplified 
by untrained singers, who toss the head upwards, or bur- 
row the chin in the chest, as they squeak or croak at the 
extremities of the voice. In running over the vocal com- 
pass, the larynx may be felt descending with the gravity 
of the tones, and ascending with their acuteness. The 
head, of course, should be quiescent. A sympathetic 
motion of the head or eye-brows is a common but offensive 
accompaniment to the movements of the voice among 
untutored speakers. 

[Exercises on the vocal movements — speaking tones — 
will be found under the head of Inflexion.] 

30. The voice may be formed by a soft and gradual 



24 VOCALIZATION. 

vibration, or by an abrupt and instantaneous explosiveness 
of sound. The latter mechanism of voice is often em- 
ployed in energetic, emphatic speech ; and the orator 
should be able, at will, to adopt it with any degree of 
force from piano to forte. The pronunciation of the 
vowel sounds with something of the effort of a cough,* 
but without its breathiness, will develop the power of 
producing this intensive vocal effect. Thus : — inhale a 
full breath, and eject the vowel sounds directly from the 
throat ; avoiding, in the most forcible effort, any bending 
or other action of the head or body. 

31. Huskiness of voice may be the result of diffidence, 
of disease, or of over-exertion. With the first and last 
of these Ave have to do. The mechanical cause is a re- 
laxation of the vocal ligaments. Rest will generallv 
restore the voice when over-exertion is the cause of its 
depravity; and the "coup de la glotte " will purify it, 
and contribute to give confidence when the first is the 
modifying circumstance. In temporary affections of the 
voice, warm mucilaginous drinks, and many confectionery 
preparations will be of service. Dryness of the mouth 
will be relieved by a small particle of powdered nitre 
placed upon the tongue. Habits of temperance are the 
best preservative of the voice. 

32. The voice is variously modified in quality by the 
relative arrangement of the organs of the mouth, — the soft 
palate, the tongue, the teeth, and the lips. The various 
configurations of the vocal channel, and of the oral aper- 
ture, by the plastic soft organs, the tongue and lips, give 
rise to vowel diversity. The contraction of the arch of 
the fauces, by enlargement of the tonsils, or by too close 
approximation of the root of the tongue to the soft palate, 
produces a guttural depravity of tone : laxity of the soft 
palate, causing it to hang from, and uncover, or only par- 
tially close, the nares (the pharyngeal openings of the 
nostrils) produces a nasal modification : too close ap- 
proximation of the jaws, especially the falling back of 
the lower teeth behind the upper, gives rise to a dental 

*This exercise ("coupde la glotte") is recommended to singers 
in the excellent and philosophical Treatise on the Art of Singing, 
by M. Garcia, of Paris. 



VOCALIZATION VOWELS. 2$ 

impurity ; and contraction or inequality of the labial aper- 
ture — by elevation of the lower lip above the edges of 
the lower teeth, by depression of the upper lip below the 
edges of the upper teeth, by contact of the corners of the 
lips, by pouting, or by opening the mouth unequally to one 
side — produces a labial modification. These labial habits 
affect not only the quality of the voice, but also many of 
the vowel and articulate formations. 

33. The quality of the voice is said to be gutturally, 
dentally, or labially depraved, when the approximation of 
the organs is so close as to produce a degree of guttural, 
dental, or labial vibration, in addition to the true sonorous 
vibration of the glottis. 

V 

IV.— PRINCIPLES OF VOWEL FORMATION. 

34. The voice, as formed in the glottis, may be said to 
be destitute of vowel quality. It is moulded into vowel 
shapes as it flows out of the mouth. The following simple 
experiment will give a clear idea of the nature of vowel 
formation. 

35. Open the mouth to the greatest possible extent — 
with the lips naturally drawn back, so that the edges of the 
teeth are visible — and emit an utterance of voice : it will 
sound ah ! Continue sounding this vowel while you grad- 
ually cover the mouth firmly with the hand, laying the 
fingers of the left hand on the right cheek, and slowly 
bringing the whole hand across the mouth : the vowel 
quality of the sound will be changed with every diminution 
of the oral aperture, progressively becoming aw, oh, oo, 
as the palm gradually covers the mouth. 

36. The apparatus of the mouth is wonderfully calcu- 
lated to effect the most minute and delicate changes with 
definiteness and precision. The tongue and the lips are 
the chief agents of vowel modification. When the tongue 
is evenly depressed, and the lips are fully spread, the 
voice has the vowel sound ah; when the tongue contracts 
the oral channel — by rising convexly within the arch of 
the palate, leaving only a small central passage for the 
voice — the vowel quality is ee ; and when the labial aper- 
ture is contracted to a small central opening — the vowel 



26 VOWELS. 

quality is oo. These vowels then, ee, ah, and oo, are the 
extremes of the natural vowel scale: the closest lingual 
vowel is ee ; the closest labial, oo ; and the most open 
sound, ah. 

37. From the mutual independence of the vowel modi- 
fiers — the lips and the tongue, — it will be obvious that 
their various positions may be assumed either separately 
or simultaneously. Thus we may put the tongue into the 
position ee, and the lips into the position 00 at the same 
instant ; and we shall produce a vowel, which combines 
the qualities of ee and 00, and is different from both ; 
just as two colours intermixed, such as blue and yellow, 
produce a third, — green, — which combines their effects, 
and differs from either element of the compound. The 
close labio-lingual vowel, resulting from the simultaneous 
formation of ee and 00, is the German u — a sound often 
heard in some of the Irish and American dialects, in- 
stead of 00, or u. 

38. Two other vowels of the Labio-lingual class are 
such very common European sounds, that an additional 
illustration, with reference to them, may not be super- 
fluous. The lips in the position o, and the tongue in the 
position a, produce the broad variety of French u — the 
same as the Scotch vowel in fruit, shoe, &c. ; and the 
lips in the position aw, with the tongue in the position 
e (ell), produce the French eu or the German 6. If, 
therefore, the vowel 00 be sounded, or the vowel o, or 
the vowel aw, the mere advance of the tongue will pro- 
duce the corresponding Labio-lingual vowels without any 
change in the position of the lips. Thus, retract and 
advance the tongue while the lips retain the positions 00, 
o, aw, and the sounds will be alternately : 

00 ii, 00 ii, 00 ii 

o u, o u, o u 

aw eu, aw eu, aw eu 

39. In the system of " Visible Speech " three classes 
of purely lingual vowels are recognized, as modified by 
the " Back," the " Front," or the (" Mixed ") Back and 
Front, of the tongue. At each of these three parts of the 
tongue three distinct vowels are formed by the " High," 
" Mid," or " Low " position of the tongue in reference to 



VOWELS. 27 

the palate ; and of each of the nine vowels so produced 
there is a ,k Wide " variety, caused by expansion of the 
faucal cavity behind the tongue. There are thus eighteen 
vowels of the lingual class provided with separate symbols. 
Each of these eighteen vowels yields a " Round " or la- 
bialized variety ; so that the Alphabet of Visible Speech 
contains 36 simple vowels. The number is extended bv 
diacritic signs to no fewer than 180 possible shades of 
vowel quality, for which a distinctive notation is given. 
It is impossible by means of ordinary letters to tabulate 
the Universal Alphabet with intelligibility ; although 
these vowels are all written by only six primary symbols 
in " Visible Speech." 

40. The following Table contains a classification of 
English Vowel sounds in the order of their formation, 
commencing with that which has the most contracted 
lingual aperture. 

41. E?iglish Vowel ScJ/eme, and Numerical Notation. 

pool ^i7 1. /eel 

poor, pull \^i6 2. /ill 

(o- 00 ) old \i5 3. /ale (a.~ 9e ) 

ore \ 14 4./ aii- 
all \ 13 5- / ell 

doll\i2 6. an 

up, urn \ JI - 7- /a 

err \ l0 — °-/ask 

\ Q. / 

\/ 

Com b inations. 
8-2 isle ; 8-16 owl ; 12-2 oil; y -16 cure ; v-17 cue. 

42. In order to bring this scheme into practical appli- 
cation, the student must discard letters as names of the 
sounds, and adopt instead a numerical nomenclature, in 
accordance with the arrangement in the Table. Thus, 
he must associate the sound ee with Number 1 , and speak 
of the vowel in the words be, fee, tea, key, ceil, field, 
people, p/que, &c, as uniformly No. 1., independently 
of the diverse vowel letters which represent the sound. 
And so with all the other vowels. He has to deal with 
sounds, not letters. 



A- 



28 VOWELS EXERCISES 

43. The key words in the Table contain the vowel 
sounds to which the numbers refer. The student should 
make himself expert at vocal analysis, so as to be able to 
pronounce the vowels alone with the exact sound which 
the} r receive in the words. He will probably experience 
some difficulty at first in isolating the " short" sounds 
correctly, — especially the 2d and 6th vowels, — without 
the customary assistance of an articulation to "stop" 
them. But as there is no particular quantity or duration 
essential to any vowel, he should make himself able to 
pronounce all the sounds independently, with both long 
and short degrees of quantity. 

44. The terms long and short are here used with ref- 
erence only to sounds which are identical in quality or 
formation. Vowels are commonly spoken of as relatively 
long and short, when they are utterly unlike in every charac- 
teristic of sound. Thus i in ill is called the short sound 
of " I," the long sound of which is heard in isle; and u 
in us, the short sound of" U,"the long sound being heard 
in use. In the more definite nomenclature by numbers, 
these " short" sounds are respectively the 2nd and r*ith 
vowels. 

45 . The ' ' long " or name-sounds of the alphabetic vowels 
are : A=3,E=i, 1 = 8-2, O = 15, U = y-i7 ; and their 
"short" sounds are: A=6, E = 5, 1=^=3, 6 = 12, U = n. 

Vowel Rxercises. 

46. The following words exemplify each of the Eng- 
lish vowels in their various modes of orthography. 

47. First Vowel, represented by e, i, as, ae, ay, ee, 
e'e, ea, ei, eo, ey, eye, ie, ce, uoi ; as in eve, fatigue, mi- 
nutiae, aerie, quay, bee, e'en, eat, conceive, people, key, 
keyed, field, antoeci, turquoise ; religion, sedate, prefer, 
vehement, peculiar, enough, decide, between, oetites, 
assuetude, idea, aureola, sphere, shire, bier, belief, unique, 
priest, police, treaty, seizure, asgis, amphisboena, oedema, 
peevish, meagre, league, siege, scream, fiend, 'wean, ease, 
breeze, frieze, achieve, trustee, ennui, ye, thee. 

48. Second Vowel, represented by a, e, i, o, u, y. ai, 
ay, ea, ee, ei, ey, ia, ie, ui, uy ; as in cabbage, pretty, 
ill, women, busy, hymn, mountain, Monday, guineas, 



VOWELS EXERCISES. 29 

breeches, forfeit, monkey, parliament, sieve, build, plaguy; 
orange, England, alkali, ashy, fancies, oxygen, servile, 
cottage, marriage, miniature, business, vineyard, cygnet, 
abyss, hyssop, citron, chintz, vivify, dizziness, invisible, 
miracle, spirit, livelong, vigil, give, film, bilge, finger, 
singer, precipice, premises, vestige, virility, valleys. 

49. Third Vowel, represented by a, ai, ao, au, ay, 
aye, ea, ei, ey, eye, oi ; as in age, aim, gaol, gauge, pay, 
aye, steak, vein, obey, preyed, connoisseur ; aerial, archai- 
ology, ukase, emigrate, portrait, clayey, vacate, weigher, 
half-penny, phasis, plaice, complacent, obeisance, bait, 
great, straight, ache, quaint, able, layer, azure, hey-day, 
maiden, zany, gala, jailor, sago, scabrous, shame, they've, 
lathe, baize, chaise, rein-deer, vain, veil, bewail, vagrant, 
neigh, dismay, inveigh, allay, grey, gay, yea. 

50. Fourth Vowel, represented by a, e, aa, ae, ai, 
ay, ea, e'e, ei, ey ; as in fare, ere, Aaron, aer, air, prayer, 
weaf, ne'er, heir, eyre ; daring, fairy, heiress, Mary, 
chary, scare-crow, lair, therein, where'er. 

51. Fifth Vowel, represented by a, e, u, ae, ai, ay, 
ea, ei, eo, ie, ue ; as in many, ever, bury, Michaelmas, 
said, says, health, heifer, leopard, friend, guess ; erratic, 
erroneous, effect, effeminate, embezzle, eccentric, except, 
executor, extend, dreaded, essence, headless, segment, 
freshness, emptiness, jeopardy, feoff, death, etiquette, 
wealth, elsewhere, burial, beryl, ferret, pellet, rennet, 
jealous, zenith, pleasure, regiment, legend, emblem, 
brethren, helmet, velvet. 

52. Sixth Vowel, represented by a, aa, ai ; as i:i 
amber, Canaan, raillery ; atlantean, vagrant, translate, 
woodland, annual, atlas, capital, passion, patent, relapse, 
statue, tapestry, waft, wax, altitude, balcony, amaranth, 
arid, ballad, cavalry, galaxy, gaseous, harass, paragraph, 
album, band, flag, plaid, glad, pageant, scandal, value, 
harangue. 

53. Seventh Vowel, represented by a ; as in abode, 
adapt, again, alone, arouse, charade, dragoon, fanatic, 
oasis, pagoda, idea, paralysis, saliva, saloon, syllable, 
sofa, drama. 

54. Eighth Vowel, represented by a: as in bath, 
cast, castle, brass, fasten, master, pass, past, repast, sam- 
ple, staff, task, vast. 



30 VOWELS — EXERCISES. 

55. Ninth Vowel, represented by a, e, au, ea, ua ; 
as in ardour, clerk, haunt, hearty, guardian ; artificer, 
barbaric, harpoon, narcotic, parhelion, sarcastic, lunar, 
dotard, arch, artifice, carpet, hearth, hearken, startle, tar- 
tar, aunt, can't, draught, laugh, arm, are, barge, farm, ser- 
geant, guardian, alms, balm, calves, malmsey, papa, 
qualm, salve, father. 

56. Tenth Vowel, represented by r, re, er, ir, 
yr, ear, uer, wer ; as in par, here, her, firmness, 
hyrst, earnest, guerdon, answer ; pier, near, hare, star, 
war, ore, sure, fire, beaver, fibre, acre, cider, ephir, 
zephyr, martyr, satire, chirp, earth, bird, fertile, mer- 
chant, thirty, vertex, virtue, myrtle, gherkin, irksome, 
kerchief, verb, firm, sirs, hers, bird, herd, verge, dirge, 
earn, yearn, early, pearl, sirloin, sterling, whirlwind, err, 
stir, myrrh, prefer.. 

^. Eleventh Vowel, represented by o, u, eo, 
io, oa, oi, 00, ou, ow, wo, eou, iou, olo ; as in world, 
done, furnace, ugly, dungeon, motion, cupboard, avoir- 
dupois, blood, journey, young, bellows, twopence, gor- 
geous, cautious, colonel ; bombast, buffoon, doubloon, 
sublime, umbrella, unkind, upon, seldom, bankrupt, 
medium, dubious, jealous, genus, courageous, collection, 
dudgeon, question, bluff, chough, tough, couple, nuptial, 
doth, husk, joust^ thus, subtle, luscious, luxury, pulp, 
bulk, gulf, mulct, monk, uncle, borough, brother, colour, 
cover, cunning, curricle, honey, money, mother, shovel, 
smuggle, study, thorough, tunnel, worry, colander, dull, 
dumb, none, buzz, love, tub, hung ; burr, fur, spur, cur, 
surfeit, worse, work, worm, curly, worldly, urn, absurd, 
curdle, urge. 

$S. Twelfth Vowel, represented by a, o, au, oa, 
ou, ow ; as in want, often, laudanum-, groat, hough, 
knowledge ; observe, occasion, oppose, quadroon, vol- 
cano, blossom, coffee, cloth, fossil, doctor, prologue 
quantity, quash, squat, topic, twattle, vocative, wash 
wasp, watch, conch, frontier, monster, prompt, wampum, 
cauliflower, chronicle, foreign, grovel, honest, laurel 
monad, nomad, olive, provost, qualify, quarrel, sovereign 
squalid, volant, warrant, zoology, bond, prong, quadrant 
solve, squander, swan, was, wan. 



VOWELS EXERCISES. 31 

59. Thirteenth Vowel, represented by a, au, aw, 
oa, ou; as in all, taught, law, broad, thought; war, 
swarthy, warm, auction, awful, balk, bought, caution, 
falcon, vaunt, halt, plaudit, lawyer, bald, broad, shawl, 
tall, yawn, faugh, pacha, spa, saw. 

60. Fourteenth Vowel, (only before R), repre- 
sented by o, ew, oa, oo, ou, wo, owa ; as in ore, sewer, 
oar, door, four, sword, towards ; original, oriental, fore- 
bode, glory, sonorous, coarse, court, courtier, forth, 
hoarse, porch, source, portly, porte, borne, bourn, forge, 
gourd, mourn, torn, tournament, untoward, horde, corps, 
floor, o'er, restore, decorum, horal, pylorus, deportment, 
victorious, proportion. 

61 . Fifteenth Vowel, represented by o, ao, au, ew, 
eau, ewe, oa, oe, oo, ou, ow, owe ; as in old, Pharaoh, 
hauteur, shew, beau, sewed, oak, foe, brooch, soul, crow, 
crowed ; analogy, antelope, apotheosis, arrow, borrow, 
broccoli, cameo, coeval, colony, colossus, furlough, elo- 
cution, nosology, obedient, philosopher, potato, rondeau, 
zoology, oasis, orthoepy, blowpipe, broach, cocoa, en- 
gross, host, jocose, locomotive, narcosis, oak, oat, oath, 
bolster, poultry, won't, curioso, hautboy, olio, onyx, 
trover, zodiac, blown, boll, brogue, comb, droll, foal, 
knoll, mould, nones, parasol, shrove, though, bureau, 
dough, hoe, holloa, know, lo, owe, throe, sloe, trow, 
mower, woe. 

62. Sixteenth Vowel, represented by o, u, oo, ou ; 
as in wolf, pull, look, poor, would ; ambush, bivouac, 
ferula, fulfil, hurrah, to, into, issue, treasure, book, 
butcher, cuckoo, cushion, push, puss, put, pulpit, bosom, 
bully, sugar, woman, woollen, bull, should, stood. 

63. Seventeenth Vowel, represented by o, u, ew, 
oe, 00, ou, ui ; as in do, rude, brew, shoe, woo, you, 
cruise ; roue, truism, bouquet, brutal, flute, fruitage, 
goose, croup, recruit, ruler, whoop, youthful, remove, 
rhubarb, ruby, ruthless, bloom, bouse, bruise, lose, 
peruse, shrewd, accrue, ado, brew, halloo, ormolu, ra- 
gout, who, too. 

64. Diphthong 8-2, represented by i, y, ai, ay, ei, ey, 
eye, ie, oi, ui, uy, ye, ; as in isle, by, naivete, ay, height, 
eying, eye, lie, choir, guide, buy, dye ; diameter, iden- 



3 2 VOWELS — ANGLICISMS. 

tify,iota, psychology, zodiacal, viaduct, society, hierarch, 
bias, lyre, science, cycle, nightly, viscount, vital, icicle, 
island, ivy, finite, piebald, sliver, twilight, I'll, I'm, I'd, 
blithe, gyve, rhyme, lithesome, bye, fy, awry, thigh, rye, 
vie, why. 

65. Diphthong 8-16, represented by o, ou, ow ; as in 
accomptant, thou, cow ; vouchsafe, foundation, bower, 
coward, vowel, our, couch, cowslip, doughty, bounteous, 
countenance, fountain, cloudy, owlet, thousand, browse, 
lounge, avow, bough, plough, endow. 

66. Diphthong 12-2, represented by oe, oi, oy, eoi ; 
as in oboe, coin, boy, burgeois ; envoy, rhomboid, boy- 
ish, loyalty, moiety, cloister, doit, hoist, oyster, anoint, 
jointure, embroider, foible, toilsome, avoid, noiseless, 
alloy, joy, destroy. 

67. Combination y-i6, represented by u, as in cure, 
durable, nature, obtuse, use (n.), abuse (n.), refuse (n.) 

68. Combination Y-17, represented by u, ue, ui, eu, 
ew, eau, iew, yew, you ; as in duty, imbue, suit, neuter, 
few, beauty, view, yew, you ; superior, utensil, virtue, 
interview, tutor, Tuesday, dupe, tune, gewgaw, music, 
news, fugue, pursuit, mutual, suture, use (v.), alluvial, 
illusive, pollute, involution, abuse (v.), refuse (v.) 



V. ANGLICISMS OF VOWEL SOUND.* 

69. It will be observed that the a and o which represent 
the 3rd and 15th vowels in the English scheme (par. 41), 
have a small ee and 00 printed after these radical letters. 
This indicates a peculiar Anglicism ; in which, and some 
associated principles, lies the leading difference between 
the vernacular dialects north and south of the Tweed. 
In Scotland these vowels are inonophthongs — that is, 
their sound is the same from beginning to end, thus a a 
and o o ; "while in England these vowels are diph- 
thongs, being tapered from the radical point towards the 
closest formation of their respective classes, lingual or 

* For a minute description of each of the English vowels, the 
defects to which they are liable, and the means of correction, — 
with copious Exercises, — see " Principles of Speech and Dic- 
tionary of Sounds." 



VOWELS ANGLICISMS. 33 

labial. A tapers towards e by the progressive ascent of 
the tongue, and o tapers towards oo by the gradual ap- 
proximation of the lips. Thus — 

obey>ee, go>«o, 

ai>eed, o>oold. 

pla>eogue, ho>oome, 

la>eeke, ho>oope, &c. 

70. In the lists of the 3d and 15th vowels, there is no 
word containing the letter R after the vowel. This omis- 
sion is not accidental. It brings us to another Principle. 

71. R in English is articulated but faintly, or not at 
all, in the two following positions ; 1st, before any artic- 
ulation — or consonant; — 2d, at the end of any word. 
In these situations, R has always a vowel sound — that of 
er or ir in the words her and sir — the 10th vowel. R 
has this vowel effect also when between two vowels, the 
first being long, as in weary, fiery, glory, fury. In words 
of this class, the R has both its vowel and its consonant 
sound. Thus, glory is not glo-ry, but glo(re)-ry. The 
vowel-quality of the R is most manifest after the closest 
radical vowels. The pronunciation pee-rage, poo-rest, 
&c, is characteristically Scotch. Such words, to be 
Anglicised, must be pronounced pe-er-age, poo-er-est, 
&c. 

72. Exercise on the Double Sound of R: — Eyry, 
ear-ache, leering, nearer, peeress, merest, airy, unwary, 
fairy, Mary, heiress, garish, soaring, gory, boreas, jury, 
alluring, Moorish, fiery, wiry, showery, towering. 

73. The 3rd and 15th vowels are, as shown above, 
closing diphthongs — that is, the vowel aperture is smaller 
at the end than at the beginning of the sound. A syllable 
may consist of either an opening or a closing combination 
of vowels, but it cannot combine with these any sound 
that reverses the progression. The vowel sound of R, 
(No. 10) is a very open sound, and could not, there- 
fore, be pronounced after the closing diphthongs A^e ox 
O^oo in one syllable. Either the diphthongal A and O 
must be contracted into monophthongs ■, or the R must be 
articulated. The latter expedient would be z^/z-English : 
the former is adopted. The closing diphthongal termi- 
nation of the A and O is dropped, and the radical vowel 

3 



34 VOWELS SCOTTICISMS. 

sound is slightly opened for easier combination with the 
very open element 10. Thus, instead of No. 3, we pro- 
nounce No. 4, and instead of 15, we pronounce 14, before 
R in the same syllable. 

74. In this way a distinctiveness is maintained in the 
pronunciation of such words as lair and layer, lore and 
lower, &c. The firsts of these pairs of words are mono- 
syllables (4^10 and 14^10), and the seconds are dis- 
syllables (3-2-10 and 15-16-10). 

75. The 14th vowel is intermediate in formation to oh 
and aw. The rapid alternation of these sounds will blend 
them into No. 14 ; or the effort to pronounce an O with- 
out using the lips will probably at once give the exact 
effect. 

76. The difference between English and Scotch pro- 
nunciation in such words as air and ore is very marked : 
the R being strongly articulated in Scotland, and the A 
and O having the same sound before R as before other 
articulations. v 



VI. SCOTTICISMS OF VOWEL SOUND. 

77. Vowel i, too short; as in feet, people, mean, 
steel, &c. — Vowel 1, as No. 3, short; as in deal, meal, 
seat, conceit, &c, pronounced dale, male, &c. 

78. Vowel 2, too open ; as in Jill, crib, dig, him, &c, 
pronounced nearly as fell, creb, deg, hem,* &c. — Vowel 
2, as No. 1, short, as in religion, individual, vicious, 
&c, pronounced religion, endev£<?dual, vicious, &c. — 
Vowel 2, nearly as No. 11 ; as in will, wind, wish, &c, 
pronounced wull, wund, wush, &c. 

79. Vowel 3, a monophthong. Vowel 3, a diphthong 
compounded of Nos. 4 and 1 , as in aye, pay, jail, tailor, 
&c, pronounced nearly as eh-ee, pe/z-ee, je/z-eel, &c. — 
Vowel 2, as No. 5 (long) ; as in nation, education, gra- 
cious, &c, pronounced ne/ztion, gre^cious,f &c. ; — Vowel 

* The vowel in these cases is an abrupt utterance of the sound 
of No. 4 (English Vowel Scheme, par. 41). 

f This is less a colloquial than an oratorical and especially a 
Pulpit Scotticism. 



VOWELS — SCOTTICISMS. 35 

3, as No. 5 (short) ; as in faint, lady, trade, &c, pro- 
nounced pent, leddy, tred, &c. 

80. Vowel 4, as No. 3 (monophthong) ; as in Mary, 
heiress, &c, pronounced Ma-ry, ai-ress, &c. 

81 . Vowel 5, as No. I ; as in deaf, breast, seven, &c, 
pronounced deef, breest, &c. — Vowel 5, as No. 2 ; as in 
twenty, ever, never, ef-, em-, en-, ex-, &c, pronounced 
twinty, iver, niver, if-, im-, in-, &c. — Vowel 5, long instead 
of short; as in guess, smell, &c. — Vowel 5, as No. 3 
(monophthong) ; as in death, edify, &c, pronounced 
daith, &c. — Vowel 5, too open ; as in very, perish, &c, 
pronounced varry, parish, &c. — Vowel 5, pronounced 
with an abrupt sound of No. 4 ; as in merry, cherry, &c. 

82. Vowel 6, as No. 3 ; as in apple, axe, pacify, &c, 
pronounced aiple, aiks, &c. — Vowel 6, as No. 5 ; as in 
cap, Saturday, salary, &c, pronounced kep, seturday, 
&c. — Vowel 6, as No. 9 (short) ; as in ma?i, gas, am, 
cat, &c, pronounced mahn, gahs, &c. — Vowel 6, as No. 
13 ; as in wax, salmon, &c, pronounced wawx, sawmon, 
&c. 

83. Vowel 7, as No. 2; as in sofa, idea, &c, pro- 
nounced sofy, &c. 

84. Vowel 8, as No. 9 (short) ; as in ask, bath, &c, 
pronounced ahsk, &c. — Vowel 8, as No. 5 ; as in brass, 
grass, nasty, &c, pronounced bress, gress, &c. 

85. Vowel 9, too short; as in parcel, carpet, half, 
&c. — Vowel 9, as No. 13 ; as in palm, papa, far, star, 
.&C. ; pronounced pawm, papaw, faur, stawr, &c- 
Vowel 9, as No. 5 ; as in farm, heart, hearth, &c. ; 
pronounced feliRm, hehrt, hehrth, &c. — Vowel 9, as No. 
3 ; as in arm, guard, sergeant, &c. ; pronounced aiitm, 
gaind, saiRgeant, &c. 

86. Vowel 10, as No. 5 ; as in err, serve, person, 
term, &c. ; prounounced ehRR, sehRve, peliRson, tehRm, 
&c. — Vowel 10, as in frm, circle, stir, virgin, acre, 
paper, &c. : pronounced with the abrupt sound of No. 

4, referred to in par. 78. 

87. Vowel 11, too deep or guttural; as in tub, cuff, 
cull, &c. — Vowel 11 (in unaccented termination), as in 
attention, genius, atrocious, pronounced with the abrupt 
sound of No. 4, referred to in the preceding paragraph. 



$6 VOWELS SCOTTICISMS. 

— Vowel 11, (before R,) too short, and the R strongly 
articulated — as in fur, turn, worm, &c. ; pronounced 
fuR, tuRn, wuRm, &c. 

88. Vowel 12, as No. 15 ; as in cost, morn, fond, copy, 
clock, &c. ; pronounced coast, mourn, &c. Vowel 12 as 
No. 11 ; as in body, nobody, &c. ; pronounced buddy, 
nobuddy, &c. 

89. Vowel 13 as No. 9; as in war, saw, call, walk, 
warp, quality, &c. ; pronounced wahr, sah, quahlity, &c. 
Vowel 13 as No. 15 ; as in bought, broad, &c. ; pro- 
nounced, boat, &c. 

90. Vowel 14 as No. 15 ; as infour, sore, door, ^lory y 
story, &c. ; pronounced form, glohry, &c. Vowel 14 as 
No. 12; as in force, sport, fourth, &c. ; pronounced 
fors, forth, &c. Vowel 14 as No. 17 ; as in coarse, court,, 
pour, &c. ; pronounced coors, pooR, &c. 

91. Vowel 15 a monophthong. Vowel 15 as No. 2, 
in unaccented syllables ; as in fellow, elocution, analogy, 
&c. ; pronounced felly, analygy, &c. Vowel 15 as No. 
3 ; as in own, alone, toe, &c. ; pronounced ain, alain, tae r 
&c. Vowel 15 as No. 12 ; as in broken, loaf, coals, &c. ; 
pronounced brocken, lof, colz, &c. Vowel 15 as No. 13 \ 
as in old, cold, fold, &c. ; pronounced auld, cauld, &c. 
Vowel 15 as a diphthong, compounded of Nos. 1 1 and 17 ; 
as in bowl, soul, mould, &c. The same vowel is heard, 
but the / is not sounded, in boll, poll (the head), knoll, 
roll, &c. ; pronounced bow, pow, &c. 

92. Vowel 16 as No. 11 ; as in woman, full, bull, 
push, &c. ; pronounced wumman, &c. Vowel 16 as 
No. 4 (short) ; as in foot, put; pronounced nearly fet, 
pet. 

93. Vowel 17 too short ; as in pool, fool, &c. Vowel 
17 as the labio-lingual of No. 3 (u French) ; as in soon, 
fruit, goose, shoe, &c. ; pronounced sune, frute, guse, 
shu, &c. — Vowel 17, final, sometimes has the simple 
lingual formation correspondent to the above labio-lingual 
vowel ; as in tae and dae, for too and do, &c. In some 
districts closer lingual vowels are used ; as skill or skele 
for school, fill for fool, seen for soon, dee for do, &c. 

94. Diphthong 8-2, as No. 1, in verbs ending in y ; as 
in gratify, stupify, edify, &c. ; pronounced gratifee,, 



VOWELS HIBERNICISMS. 37 

stupifee, aidifee, &c. — Diphthong 8-2, with the Scotch 
Vowel referred to in par. 78 ; as in find, blind, sight, 
&c. ; pronounced nearly fend, blend, secHt, &c. — Diph- 
thong 8-2 as 9-2 — the radical sound very long ; as infiy, 
sky, &c. ; pronounced flah-jK, skah-y, &c. — Diphthong 
8-2, with 5 (long) , instead of 8, followed by a very slight 
closing effect; as in I, high, prize, &c. ; pronounced 
nearly as eh-y, heh-y, preh-iz, &c. — Diphthong 8-2, — as 
a compound of the Scotch vowel before referred to, and 
No. 1 ; as in ice, fine, smile, &c. ; pronounced nearly as 
eh-ees, feh-een, smeh-eel, &c. 

95. Diphthong 8-16, as 1 1-1 7 ; as in cloud, howl, vow, 
thou, &c. — Diphthong 8-16 as No. 17 ; as in house, proud, 
cow, &c. ; pronounced hoos, prood, coo, &c. — Diphthong 
8-16, as No. 11 ; as in pound, ground, &c. ; pronounced 
pund, griind, &c. 

96. Diphthong 12-2, as 15-2; as in boy, noise, &c. ; 
pronounced bo-y, no-iz, &c. — Diphthong 12-2, pro- 
nounced with a compound of the Scotch variety of No. 4 
and No. 1 ; as in oil, oyster, joint, &c. ; pronounced 
nearly eh-eel, eh-eester, jeh-eent, &c. 

97. In the foregoing list of Vowel Scotticisms, no notice 
is taken of dialectic changes of words, but only of ver- 
nacular pronunciations of words used and spelt as in 
English. 

: k 

VII. HIBERNICISMS OF VOWEL SOUND. 

98. Vowel i, in some words, pronounced 3 (long, 
monophthong) ; as in seat, meat, easy, &c. ; pronounced 
sate, aisy, &c. 

99. Vowel 2, (in y final) as 1 ; as in happy, pretty, 
my (unaccented), &c, pronounced happee, mee, &c. 

100. Vowel 3, as a monophthong (long). 

1 01. Vowel 5, as French "e mute" (the "Mid Mixed" 
vowel of Visible Speech) ; as in health, pleasure, friend, 
&c. 

102. Vowels 8 and 9 as 6 (long) ; as in bath, pass, 
castle, calf, ah, papa, &c. 

103. Vowels 10 and 11, nearly as 12 ; as in her, sir, 
up, dull, blood, wor?n, Dublin, &c. The true sound 



38 VOWELS AMERICANISMS. 

cannot be indicated by Roman letters ; it is the " Low- 
Mixed Round " vowel of Visible Speech. 

104. Vowel 13 nearly as 8 ; as in all, want, thought, 
honest, law, &c. The sound is the " Low Mixed Wide 
Round" vowel of Visible Speech. 

105. Vowel 15, as a monophthong. 

106. Vowel 16, in some words, nearly as 11 ; as in 
foot^ look, stood, put, cushion, &c. 

107. Diphthong 8-2 nearly as 13-1 ; as in why, I, 
time, and all words containing 1. The true Irish sound 
is the same as in par. 103. 

108. Diphthong 12-2 nearly as S-i. The initial sound 
is the same as in par. 104. 

109. Unaccented Vowels of all classes, as French 
" e mute " (the " Mid Mixed " sound of Visible Speech) ; 
as in religion, destroy, cabbage, surface, preczp/ce, good- 
ness, useless, paralysis, certain, knowledge, ornament, 
original, ph/losopher, rheumatism, pleasure, counte- 
nance, &c. 

X 

VIII. AMERICANISMS OF VOWEL SOUND. 

no. The Author's opportunities have enabled him to 
furnish tolerably complete lists of Anglicisms, Scotticisms, 
and Hibernicisms of Vowel Sound. He cannot pretend 
to an equally minute knowledge of American character- 
istics. The preceding analysis may be taken as a model 
by those who can in a similar manner exhibit the pecu- 
liarities of other Dialects. A few only of the more promi- 
nent Americanisms can be noted here. 

in. Vowel 3, as a monophthong. 

112. Vowel 10, — and the letter R before an articula- 
tion, — with a sound which is very peculiar, and cannot 
be represented by Roman letters. It is the " High 
Mixed" vowel of Visible Speech. The effect of R be- 
fore an articulation is nearly that of Y ; as in sfiohyt for 
sport. 

113. Vowel n, before R, with the same sound as the 
preceding. 

114. Vowels 14 and 15, alike (monophthong.) 

115. Diphthong 8-2 as 9-2, with the first element very 
long ; as in tah-im for time. 



VOWELS AND ARTICULATIONS. 39 

116. Diphthong 8-16 as 5-16; as in deh-oon for 
down. 

117. Diphthong 12-2 as 14-2. 

118. Alphabetic U, when not pronounced simply as 
17 (as dooty for duty) has the diphthongal sound 1-16 ; 
as in nee-00 for new, fee-00 for few, &c. 

119. Nasal Quality. This is the most marked fea- 
ture in the American Dialects. A national relaxation of 
the soft palate seems to prevail, so that the inner ends of 
the nares remain uncovered. Vowels before or after the 
nasal Articulations M, N, and Ng, are affected in the 
greatest degree ; but many speakers never utter a purely 
oral vowel. 



IX. DISTINCTION BETWEEN VOWELS AND ARTICU- 
LATIONS. 

120. Before proceeding to illustrate further the Nu- 
merical Notation of Vowels, the distinction between 
Vowels and Articulations, (or Consonants,) must be 
explained. These primary classes of the elements of 
speech are united in Y and W, which combine articu- 
lative quality with the sounds of the closest vowels 1, 
(ee,) and 17, (00.) Thus: prolong the sounds of y and 
w, as heard at the beginning of a word, (yea, way, &c.) 
and the y will then be found identical in sound with Ee, 
and the w with Oo. Yet that there is a difference be- 
tween Y and Ee, and between W and Oo, — and one not 
merely of quantity, — will be evident on pronouncing these 
vowels twice in succession, in contrast with the words ye 
and woo — thus ee-ee, 00-00. Let these vowels be rapidly 
or slowly repeated, they will not identify with the words 
ye and woo. An experiment will furnish the most simple 
and convincing illustration of the difference between these 
utterances, and between Vowels and Articulations gen- 
erally. 

121. Prolong the sound of the First vowel (ee,) and 
while doing so strike the tongue upwards with the tip 
of a finger from behind the chin ; and the Ee will be 
changed to Ye by each stroke : prolong the seventeenth 
vowel (00,) and while doing so, approximate the edges 



40 VOWEL NOTATION. 

of the lips, by the action of the linger and thumb, and the 
Oo will be changed into Woo, by every approximation. 
In forming the vowels Ee and Oo, the organs are in the 
closest positions they can assume without influencing the 
sound by a degree of vibration of the edges of the con- 
tracted lingual or labial aperture. In forming Y and W, 
a compressive action of the tongue and lips creates this 
oral, articulative effect; while it gives the succeeding 
vowel a degree of percussiveness, arising from previous 
interception or obstruction. 

122. Vowels, then, are glottal sounds merely modified 
by the shape of the mouth, and having no oral sound ; and 
Articulations are appulsive actions of the oral organs, 
originating a sound within the mouth — a puff or hiss of 
breath, or a flap of the articulating organs. 

123. The articulations Y and W often occur in pro- 
nunciation, when the letters are not written. The com- 
mon English digraph qu is sounded kw ; and the alpha- 
betic sound of the letter U is equivalent to y-i7- The 
sounds of E and I are often contracted into Y, as in 
species, Asia, question, &c, pronounced speesh-yiz, 
aish-'ya, kwest-yun, &c. 



X.— EXERCISES IN VOWEL NOTATION. 

124. In the passages which are subjoined for analytic 
exercise, mark over every spoken vowel-letter the num- 
ber of its sound, according to the Scheme at par. 41 ; and 
indicate the sounds of y and w, when the letters are not 
written. Also show when R has its vowel 'quality (No. 
10) and underline it when it has both its vowel and ar- 
ticulate effects. Thus : 

w 3 6 w 3 y 17 16 10 y 16 1-11 y 17 2 

Quake, assuage, use, your, curious, beauty. 

125. The indefinite article, a, is pronounced No. J. 
The definite article, the, is pronounced nearly No. 2 
when not emphatic. The pronominal adjectives my and 
mine are pronounced No. 2 when they are not accented 
or emphatic, and 8-2 when under emphasis. The final 
letters le, and often also el and en, are pronounced with- 
out any vowel sound, — the / and n having in themselves 



VOWEL NOTATION. 41 

syllabic purity of voice ; as in bible, thist/<?, hazel, bevel, 
devil, bidden, deaden, dozen, heaven, &c. The letter 
m, also, is similarly syllabic in such words as rhythaw, 
spasm,* &c. In all such cases write a cipher (°) over 
the 1, n, or m, to indicate a syllable with no vowel. 
Take no notice of silent letters, but recognise and note 
every sound. The plural termination es is pronounced 
No. 2 ; and the verbal terminations es, est, eth, ed, &c, 
are pronounced No. 4. The final letters ed are not syl- 
labically pronounced, except after t, or d, or for distinct- 
iveness between different parts of speech of the same or- 
thography, as in learned, blessed, &c, which are mono- 
syllables, (learn'd, blest, &c.,) when verbs, and dissyl- 
lables, (learn-ed, bless-ed, &c.,) when adjectives. 

126. Mark the vowels, &c, in the following poem and 
then compare the marking with the Key at par. 128. 

/. Thought and Deed. 

Full many a light thought man may cherish, 

Full many an idle deed may do ; 
Yet not a deed or thought shall perish, 

Not one but he shall bless or rue. 

When by the wind the tree is shaken, 
There's not a bough or leaf can fall, 

But of its falling heed is taken 
By One that sees and governs all. 

The tree may fall and be forgotten, 

And buried in the earth remain ; 
Yet from its juices rank and rotten 

Springs vegetating life again. 



* With the syllabic / and n a vowel letter is always written, and 
the syllable is thus perfect to the eye : but such words as rhythm, 
prism, &c. , having no vowel letter, are commonly reckoned mono- 
syllables, though to the ear they are perfectly dissyllabic. The 
words prism and prison=priz'n, have sound for sound alike, and 
both are equally therefore dissyllables. 



4 2 VOWEL NOTATION. 

The world is with creation teeming, 

And nothing ever wholly dies ; 
And things that are destroyed in seeming, 

In other shapes and forms arise. 

And nature still unfolds the tissue 
Of unseen works by spirit wrought : 

And not a work but hath its issue 
With blessings or with evil fraught. 

And thou may'st seem to leave behind thee 

All memory of the sinful past ; 
Yet oh, be sure, thy sin shall find thee, 

And thou shalt know its fruit at last. 

II. Selected Words. 

127. Mark the vowels, &c, in the following Selected 
Words, and then compare the marking with the Key at 
par. 129. 

Accli'vous, acquiesce, advertisement, ancho'vy, answer, 
assure, azure, antipodes, aeronaut, alienable, apophthegm, 
apothe'osis, aro'ma, aspi'rant, bandana, banian', battalion, bel- 
lows, (s) bowline, breeches, Briton, Britain, brevier', brev'et, 
(adj.) brevet', (s) burial, cesu'ra, capuchin', captious, comparable, 
chas'tisement, chlorine, colonel, complaisant', con'trary, cor'ol- 
lary, curule, coadju'tor, courier, Creole, cupboard, deco'rous, des'- 
uetude, diabetes, dioeresis, dim'issory, duo, duteous, dynasty, 
egotism, elegi'ac, ener'vate, equerry, equable, extraordinary, 
fabric, facetiae, fanat'ic, forfeit, fusil, fuchsia, glacier, hallelujah, 
height, hypochon'driac, imbecile', impious, indict, invalid', (s) 
inval'id, (adj.) issue, lieutenant, million, machinist, Mahomet, 
manoeuvre, medicinal, me'diocre, met'onymy, mem'oir, minutiae, 



VOWEL NOTATION. 43. 

mis'cellany, mischievous, mobile, national, o'asis, omnipotent, 
pique, pacha, panegyr'ic, phrenetic, phrenitis, plethora, ple- 
thoric, prolix', puisne, quay, query, quandary, queue, righteous,, 
recitative', recon'dite, rep'ertory, rule, refragable, rev'enue, 
sacerdotal, sali'va, sapphire, satiate, satiety, satrap, stalac'tite,. 
sub'altern, supernumerary, synecdoche, towards, treasure, ver- 
tigo, victuals, women, yacht, zoology, zoological. 
Key to Exercises in Vo-wel Notation. 
128. I' Thought and Deed. 

16 5 2 7 8-2 13 6 3 5 2 

Full many a light thought man may cherish, 
68-201 3 17 
Full many an idle deed may do, 
5 12 12 13 6 5 2 

Yet not a deed or thought shall perish, 
w-li 11 l 6 5 17 

Not one but he shall bless or rue. 

5 8-2 22 12 34 

When by the wind the tree is shaken, 
4 8-16 1 6 13 

There's not a bough or leaf can fall, 
12 2 13 2 12 3 4 

But of its falling heed is taken 

6 16 11 10 13 

By One that sees and governs all. 

12 12 
The tree may fall and be forgotten, 
5 2 2 10 13 

And buried in the earth remain ; 
5 12 yi 2 6 12 

Yet from its juices rank and rotten 
2 5232 8-2 75 

Springs vegetating life again. 

11 2 1-3 11 1 2 

The world is with creation teeming, 
11 2 5 10 15 2 8-2 

And nothing ever wholly dies ; 

2 9 1 12-1 12 

And things that are destroyed in seeming 
11 10 3 12 7 8-2 

In other shapes and forms arise. 



44 VOWEL NOTATION. 

3y-16 2 11 15 2 16 

And nature still unfolds the tissue 
11 1 11 2 2 13 

Of unseen works by spirit wrought; 
6 2 16 

And not a work but hath its issue 
5 2 1 2 13 

With blessings or with evil fraught. 

8-16 3 118-2 1 

And thou may'st seem to leave behind thee 

13 5 14 2 2 16 8 

All memory of the sinful past; 

5 15 1 16 8-2 2 6 8-2 1 

Yet oh, be sure, thy sin shall find thee, 

6 8-16 6 « 15 2 17 6 8 

And thou shalt know its fruit at last. 

1 29. For greater clearness the numbers are here printed, 
not over, but instead of the vowel letters. The articu- 
lations are altered, when necessary, to represent the 
sounds correctly. Italicised r shows that the letter has 
both its vowel -and articulate sounds. 

II. Selected Words. 

6 kl 8. V i S) e kw i.5 S) «dv 10 rt 2 zm 5 nt, 6 ntsh 15 v 2 , 8 ns 10 r, 6 sh 16 r, 3 zh 16 r, 
•ntyM'z, V 5 n 12 t, *ly 5 n 7 bi, 6 p I5 th 5 m, «p»th 1 - 1 Vs 1 7 r 15 m 7 , 6 sp 8 -Vnt, 
b 6 nd 6 n 7 , b°ny 6 n, b 6 t 6 lj"n, b 5 l u s, b 15 l 2 n, br 2 tsh 2 z, br 2 t n n, br 2 t°n, 
brVr, br 5 v 5 t, brVt, bV- 6 l, s'zy 16 *- 7 , k'py'Wn^psh^.^mpVb !, 

tsh fi st 2 zm 5 nt, kl'Vn, k n rn fl l, k 1J mpl 2 z 8 nt, k 12 ntrV, k 12 r 12 l 7 r 2 , ky 16 r 16 l, 
k 15 - 6 dzh 17 t 12 r, k J V- 10 r, kr ul5 l, k n b"rd, dVVs, dWty'M, d 8A7 b 1 t 1 z, 
d 8 - 2 - 5 r 2 s 2 s, d 2 m 2 s 12 r 2 , dy 17 - 15 , dy 17 ty n s, d 2 n 6 st 2 , 5 g 15 t 2 zm, Tdzh 8 - 2 - 6 k, 
m^iVt, n kw 5 r 2 , 6 kw 7 b°l, 5 kstr 13 rd 2 n 7 r 2 , f 3 br 2 k, fVshy 1 , f 7 n B t 2 k, 
f 12 rf 2 t, fy 16 z\ fy 17 shy 7 , gl 8 sy J °r, hTFy 7 , h 8 % h 2 p ls k 12 ndr 2 - 6 k, 
2 mbVl, 2 mp 2 - n s, 2 nd H - 2 t, 2 nv 7 Pd, 2 nv 6 l 2 d, 2 sh lfi , l 6 vt B n 8 nt, m 2 ly n n, 
mWn'st, m 7 h 12 m 5 t, m 7 n n v 10 r, m 1 d 2 s 2 n 6 l, m^^k'V, m 5 t 15 n 2 m 2 , 
m 5 mw 12 r, m'ny^shy 1 , mVi 4 n 2 , m 2 stsh 2 v n s, m 12 b 2 l, n 6 sh n n 6 l, 15 - 7 s 2 s, 
12 mn 2 p 15 t 5 nt, p J k, p 7 sh 13 , p 6 n 2 dz 2 r 2 k, fr'n^k, frm 8 - 2 t 2 s, pl 5 th I4 r 7 , 
plWVk, pr ]5 l 2 ks, py 17 n 2 , k\ kwV 2 , kw 12 ndV 2 , ky 17 , r 8 - 2 ty u s, 
r 5 s 2 t 7 tV, r 1 k 12 nd 2 t, r ft p J0 rt 12 r 2 , r 17 l, r 5 fr 7 g 7 b°l, r 5 v 5 ny lfi , s c s 10 rd 15 t fi l, 
s 7 l 8 -V, s fi f 10 r, s s sh ] - 3 t, s 7 t 8 - 2 - 5 t 2 , s 3 tr r 'p, st 7 l 6 kt 8 - 2 t, s 11 b 7 lt ,0 rn, 



ASPIRATE ARTICULATIONS. 45 

XL THE ASPIRATE, H. 

130. The letter H does not represent any fixed forma- 
tion, but simply an aspiratio?i of the succeeding element . 
Thus, H before e is a whispered e, before a a whispered 
a, &c. ; differing, however, from the simple whispered 
vowel by the softer commencement of the aspiration. H 
before alphabetic u — which, it will be remembered, rep- 
resents the combination y-oo — denotes a whispered Y, as 
in hue, human, &c, pronounced Thue=Thyoo, &c. 

131. The vowel aspirate (H) is very irregularly used 
in many parts of England ; it is heard when it should be 
silent, and silent when it should be sounded ; and that 
with such perversity that pure initial vowels are almost 
unheard, except in cases where they ought to be aspirated. 
The coup de la glotte exercise on initial vowels (par. 30) 
will correct this habit. 

132. A norther?t peculiarity in the formation of H con- 
sists in giving a degree of guttural compression to the 
breath, which is extremely harsh and grating. This 
fault will be avoided by pronouncing the h with a softly 
sighing effect. 

133. Many public speakers have a disagreeable custom 
of giving a vocal commencement to H, as in hold, hun- 
dred, &c, pronounced uhold, uhundred, &c. This 
tasteless expedient seems to be adopted in the fear that 
the delicate effect of h would otherwise be inaudible ; but 
the succeeding vowel makes it heard. 

Silent H. 

134. In the following words and their derivatives, 
though h is written, the vowels are not aspirated : — 

Heir, heirship, heirloom, &c. ; honest, honesty, &c. ; honour, 
honourable, &c. ; hostler; hour, hour-glass, &c. ; humour, hu- 
morous, &c. 



¥ 



XII. ARTICULATIONS. 



135. The oral actions here denominated articula- 
tions, are more commonly called " consonants ; " but as 
that term is defined to signify a letter that " cannot be 
sounded by itself," and as in fact every element of speech 



46 ARTICULATIONS. 

may be perfectly sounded alone, the name "Articula- 
tions" — otherwise preferable — is a more appropriate 
generic term for the oral actions. 

136. In par. 120 the line of distinction is drawn be- 
tween vowels and articulations : — showing the latter to 
be oral sounds arising from obstruction or compression 
of the breath behind the conjoined or closely approxi- 
mated organs. 

137. The oral puff, or hiss, which constitutes the ar- 
ticulative effect, may be accompanied or not, by a glottal 
sound. Each articulative action thus produces two dis- 
tinct elements of speech, — a breath form, and a voice 
form, — as in .seal and zeal, t/iigh and //*y,_/ear and veer, 
j^ain and bane, while and wile, /ale and dale, hues and 
use, call and^all, &c. These pairs of articulations have 
precisely the same oral formation, and differ only in the 
vocalized breath of the second, and the voiceless aspira- 
tion of the first of the respective pairs. 

138. The articulations are primarily divisible into two 
classes,— Obstructive and Continuous. In the former 
class the breath is shut in by perfect contact of the articu- 
lating organs ; in the latter it escapes through central, 
lateral, or interstitial apertures ; the organs being either 
in partial contact or merely in approximation. 

139. There are thus three modes of Articulation : — 
I. Complete Contact ; II. Partial Contact ; III. Approx- 
imation. 

/. Complete Contact. 

140. The breath is obstructed at three points : (I.) by 
contact of the lips ; (II.) by contact of the forepart of the 
tongue with the anterior part of the palate ; (III.) by 
contact of the back, or root of the tongue, with the pos- 
terior part of the palate. At the first of these points are 
formed the articulations P and B ; at the second, T and 
D ; and at the third, K and G (" hard") ; the former 
of each of these pairs being the " breath," and the latter 
the '• voice" form of the articulation. 

141. While the oral organs are in obstructive contact, 
the breath or voice may be made to issue by the nostrils. 



ARTICULATIONS. 47 

This is the mode of formation of the English elements, 
M, N, and Ng. For M, the lips are closed as in forming 
P and B ; for N, the tongue is on the palate as for T and 
D ; and for Ng, the posterior organs are in contact as in 
forming K and G. 

142. The nine Articulations hitherto described are 
thus the result of but three actions of the mouth with the 
modifications of — 



Breath, 


Voice, 


Nasal, 


P 


B 


M 


T 


D 


N 


K 


G 


Ng 



II. Partial Contact. 

143. The next mode of articulative action, — partial 
contact, — produces F and V, Th (thin), and Th (then), 
the Welsh LI, the English L, and a Gaelic form of L 
made with the middle instead of the tip of the tongue on 
the palate. 

III. Approximation. 

144. The remaining mode of articulative action, — 
organic approximation, — produces Wh and W, S and Z, 
Sh and Zh, Yh and Y, Rh (Welsh), and R, the soft 
Spanish sound of B, (bh), and the German, or Scotch 
guttural Ch, with its vocal form, the smooth burr. 

145. Relaxed approximation gives the trilled R, the 
rough burr and a corresponding vibration of the lips, 
which is used only interjectionally in English. 

146. In the system of "Visible Speech" (see par. 
39) — the Alphabet of which is complete for all Languages 
and Dialects — the Scheme of Articulations includes fifty- 
two elements. By means of diacritic signs this number 
is multiplied several fold. The classification cannot be 
shown by Roman letters. But all the possible hundreds 
of articulate formations are represented by combinations 
of only fourteen primary symbols. 

147. The following General Scheme embraces all 
the preceding articulations classified according to their 
modes of formation : — 



4 8 



ARTICULATIONS. 



148. General Scheme of Articulations. 

Breath. Voice. 



ORAL. 
P. 



.5 «> 



f 



ORAL. 
.... B . 



NASAL. 

M 



o 

h 
< 

•J -I 
D 
O 

H 
04 

<1 



3 
O 

C 



o o 



On O 



T. 

IK. 



x 
o 
u 



E — 1 



D 

G 

F V 1 

Th Th J 

LI (Welsh) L I 

= L (Gaelic) J 

(Ph). Bh (Spanish B).... 

Rh R (smooth) 

Ch (German) Gh 

Wh w 

s z 

Sh Zh 

Yh Y 

f(KRh) gR (burr) 

(Rh) R (rough) 

= (lip vibration) 



- 



149. The three Nasals, M, N, Ng, are placed on the 
same line with the Obstructives, to show that their oral 
mechanism is the same ; but as they are continuous in 
effect (nasally), although orally obstructive, they are 
connected also with those elements which have Partial 
Contact. 

150. The following Table contains the English Articu- 
lations arranged in the order of their formation, commenc- 
ing with those which have their seat farthest within the 



ENGLISH ARTICULATIONS. 49 

mouth, and proceeding to those which have the most an- 
terior formation. 

151. English Articulations.* 



Breath. Voice. 



Oral. Oral. Nasal. 

1 2 3 

K G Ng 

4 5 

H(ew) Y(ew) 

6 7 

Sh Zh = 



R (rough). 



= fR (smooth) = 

10 
= ...L = 

11 12 13 

T D N 

14 15 

s z 

16 17 

Th(in) Th(en) = 

18 „ 19 

F V = 

20 21 

Wh W = 

22 23 24 

P B M 



152. The student should be able to enounce the sounds 
of these Articulations independently, and exactly as heard 
in words. The following Table exhibits all the English 
Articulations in each of the four positions : initial, final, 
medial before a vowel, medial before an articulation. 

* For a minute description of each of the English Articula- 
tions, the defects to which they are liable, and the means of cor- 
recting them, see " Dictionary of English Sounds," in the work 
referred to in note, par. 69. 

t See par. 71. 



5<> 



ARTICULATIONS DISTINCTNESS. 



153. Table of Articulations. 



p, 

B, . 


• • -/ay 

. . . bee 


a/e 
gle^e 


paper 
neighbour 


apricot 
a% 


M, 
Wh, 


. . . mar 

. . .w^y 


arm 

* 


arwy 
awhile 


arw'd 

* 


w, 

F, 

V, 


, . . . way 
....fed 

. . . . -peal 


* 

deaf 
leave 


away 
definite 

evil 


* 

de/tness 
ev(e)ning 


Th, 


Mird 


dear t ft 


ethic 


ethnic 


Th, 


. . . .these 


seethe 


either 


wreathed 


s, 


....jell 
. . . . *one 


less 
nose 


essay 
rosy 


estuary 
rosebush 


R, 


. . . . rare 


* 


rarity 


* 


L, 


..../eft 


fell 


fellow 


fe//'d 


T, 


/ale 


la/e 


later 


lameness 


D, 


. . . . i/ay 


aid 


tracer 


tradesman 


N, 
Sh, 


. . . . nave 
....shelf 


vaiw 
fle^ 


waging 
Usher 


mainland 
fishmonger 


Zh, 

Y, 

K, 

G, 

Ng, 


. . .giraffe 
....ye 
. . . cap 

...£iim 

* 


rou£*c 

fille (French.) 

pack 
mvg- 

sing- 


pleasure 

bejond 

packet 

slu^ard 

singer 


hedgerow 

* 

packthread 

smuggler 

singly 



XIII. PRINCIPLE OF DISTINCTNESS. 

154. Every articulation consists of two parts — a 
position and an action. The former brings the organs 
into approximation or contact, and the latter separates 
them, by a smart percussive action of recoil, from the 
articulative position. This principle is of the utmost 
importance to all persons whose articulation is imper- 
fect. Distinctness entirely depends on its application. 
Let it be carefully noted : — audibly percussive organic 
separation is the necessary action of every articulation. 

155. The Breath Obstructives, P-T-K, have no sound 
in their position, and thus depend, for all their audibility, 
on the puff that accompanies the organic separation. 
This therefore must be clearly heard, or the letters are 

♦These articulations do not occur in this position in English. 



ARTICULATIONS DEFECTS. 5 I 

practically lost. .The Voice Obstructives, B-D-G, have 
a slight audibility in their " positions," from the abrupt 
murmur of voice which distinguishes them from P, T, 
and K ; but they are equally imperfect without the organic 
" action " of separation and its distinctive percussiveness. 
All the other elements being Continuous, have more or less 
audibility in their " positions ;" but in every case distinct- 
ness and fluency depend on the disjunctive completion of 
the articulative " action." 



XIV. DEFECTS OF ARTICULATION. 

156. Various faulty formations of the elements of articu- 
lation are extremely common. The Obstructives become 
mere stops, and lack the necessary percussive termination ; 
the voice articulations are deficient in throat-sound, and 
thus not sufficiently distinguished from their breath cor- 
respondents ; the Continuous elements are formed by a 
faulty disposition of the organs, or by the wrong organs ; 
or their "positions" are not sufficiently firm, and their 
"actions" altogether wanting or indistinctly languid. 
The motions of the tongue and the lips are tremu- 
lous or indefinite, too feebly or too strongly conjunctive, 
too rapid or too tardy, &c, &c. 

157. Lisping consists in partially obstructing the hiss- 
ing stream of air, by contact of the point of the tongue 
with the teeth, or by elevation of the lower lip to the 
upper teeth. 

158. Burring consists in quivering the uvula instead 
of the point of the tongue, or approximating the soft palate 
and back of the tongue instead of raising the tip of the 
tongue to the anterior rim of the palatal arch. 

159. Thickness of articulation consists in the action 
of the middle instead of the point of the tongue in the 
various lingual articulations. This last very common 
kind of imperfection sometimes arises from congenital 
inability to raise the tip of the tongue to the palate — re- 
movable by a simple operation — but most frequently it is 
the result merely of a bad habit, perfectly removable by 
energetic and careful application of lingual exercises. 

160. In the work referred to in the note, par. 69, the 
various errors of articulation— including Stuttering and 



52 ORAL ORGANS. 

Stammering — are the subjects of a more elaborate treat- 
ment. The following is a summary of the correct — 

Relative Positions of the Oral Organs. 
The Tongue. 

161. The tongue should be held back from the lower 
teeth, in order that its actions may be independent of the 
motion of the jaw : the tip should never be pressed into 
the bed of the lower jaw ; the tongue should never touch 
the lips, or be protruded between the teeth : it should be 
rarely seen, and, when visible, the less the better. The 
root of the tongue should be depressed as much as pos- 
sible, to expand the back part of the mouth and give ful- 
ness to the vowel sounds : — this is the chief source of the 
mellow " orotund " quality which distinguishes the voices 
of well-practised speakers. The tongue should not be 
pushed from point to point without disengagement in pass- 
ing from word to word : but it should sharply finish the 
articulations by a perfect recoil of the organ : — this insures 
distinctness. 

The Jaw. 

162. The lower jaw should not, in speaking, fall be- 
hind the upper, but the two ranges of teeth should be 
kept as nearly in a line as possible. The teeth should 
never come in contact : even when the lips are closed, 
the teeth should not clash. The lower jaw should descend 
freely for every vowel utterance, and, preparatorily, be- 
fore the commencement of articulation : its motions must 
be without jerking, equable, easy, and floating. 

The Lips. 

163. The lips should never hang loosely away from the 
teeth, or be pursed, pouted, or twisted, but they should 
maintain the form of the dental ranges as nearly as pos- 
sible, lying equalliy and unconstrainedly against the teeh. 
The habits of lick ng or biting the lips are offensive, and 
should be carefully guarded against by public speakers. 
The lips should be used as little as possible in articula- 
tion ; the upper lip should remain almost quiescent, save 
for emotive expression ; the articulative action being con- 
fined to the lower lip. 



ARTICULATION — ANGLICISMS. 53 

Labial Expressiveness. 
164.. Habits of speech are so peculiarly operative in 
giving character to the lips, that an acute observer may 
generally tell by their aspect whether a person's articula- 
tion is good or bad ; and there are few stammerers who 
do not show, to the practised eye, an indication of their 
infirmity in the lips. The soft and pliant texture of the 
lips is easily impressed by any habit ; and even a passing 
■emotion will mould their plastic substance to express it. 
Habitual ill-nature everybody looks for and recognizes on 
the lips ; and there sweet temper and cheerfulness have 
their calm abode. Thus we generally find fixed on these 
portals of the mouth a legible summary of the man. The 
lips of the vulgar and ignorant are " arrant tell-tales," 
which there is no belying ; and mental superiority cannot 
conceal itself from labial disclosure. The lips refuse to 
screen the lie they may be forced to speak. It may be 
said, indeed, that falsehood cannot utter itself by these 
* l miraculous organs" of truth ; but conscious rectitude, 
integrity, and virtue shine through the lips, and give irre- 
fragable evidence there, when other testimony is absent 
-or doubtful. ^ 

XV. ANGLICISMS OF ARTICULATION. 

165. The leading Anglicism of Articulation has been 
already pointed out in remarks on the letter R (par. 71, 
et seq.) This element is distinctly articulated only be- 
fore a VQivel; but less with a trill, than a smooth buzz- 
ing vibration of the tongue. In other positions, the letter 
R is faintly, or not at all articulated. R has a vowel 
sound (No. 10) after any long vowel, before any articu- 
lation, and when final. 

166. When final R is followed by a word beginning 
with a vowel, the R is articulated, to avoid hiatus be- 
tween the words. But the Cockney custom of interpos- 
ing R between two vowels, as in the sentences, " Is 
Papa r at home?'* — " What an idea r it is!" &c, is 
not to be countenanced. This vulgarism is confined to 
words ending with the open vowels, Nos. 8, 9, and some- 
times 13 ; the formative apertures of which are of nearly 
the same expansion as that of the English (R=) 10. 



54 ARTICULATION SCOTTICISMS. 

167. English speakers too commonly confound the 
Breath with the Voice forms of the articulations Y and 
W, and so pronounce alike such words as hue and you y 
which and witch, whale and wail, whither and wither ,. 
whig and wig, &c. 

K-G, as in Kind, Guard, &c. 

168. In pronouncing such -words as key and caw,, 
geese and gauze, it will be observed that the obstructive 
position of the tongue for the initial articulation is not 
precisely the same before the open as before the close 
vowel ; accommodating itself to the formation of the sub- 
sequent vowel, the tongue is much more advanced before 
ee than before aw. Indeed, the points of contact are not 
exactly the same before any two vowels. The closest 
lingual vowels are associated with the most anterior con- 
sonant positions, and the open and labial vowels with the 
most posterior. A peculiar Anglicism arises from viola- 
tion of this principle in certain cases. K and G before 
the open vowels, in card, guard, kind, guile, girl, 
&c, are articulated from the anterior instead of the 
posterior positions ; so that the breath which follows the 
articulative "action" has the vowel quality of ee ; and 
an effect is produced something like that of the articula- 
tion y. This effect is greatly overdone by those who pro- 
nounce ee or y in such words. " K^^-ind," and "ky-ard," 
are affected caricatures of this delicate Anglicism. The 
following and their derivatives, are the leading words 
that partake of this peculiarity : — 

card, kind, garden, guard, girl, guide, guile, guise. 



XVI. SCOTTICISMS OF ARTICULATION. 

169. The leading Scotticism of Articulation consists in 
the uniform and rough trilling of the tongue for the let- 
ter R, in all situations. 

170. Another very general Scotch peculiarity consists 
in giving a vowel sound to the letter L when final, espe- 
cially when it follows the 5th vowel ; the L, in such words 
as sell, bell, well, swell, &c. , being pronounced nearly like 
ul. Thus — " seh-^/, beh-^/," &c. 



ARTICULATION HIBERNICISMS. 55 

171. The articulation Ng is pronounced as n before th 
— as in length, strength, &c. ; and in the final anaccented 
syllable ing, — as in seeing, believing, &c. ; pronounced 
le^th, stream, seein, believi?*, &c. 

172. The Breath Obstructive Articulations, especially 
the letter T, are, in the West of Scotland, pronounced 
without any articulative action, but with a mere glottal 
catch after the preceding vowel, as in better, butter, &c. ; 
pronounced be-er, bu-er, &c. 

173. The Breath form of the articulation Th, is pro- 
nounced instead of the Voice form, in the words ^ough, 
/Either, with, henescth, pa/>£s, &c. A substitution of 
Breath for Voice forms of articulation is also very gener- 
ally heard in the words of, as, nephew, &c, pronounced 
off", ass, nefyoo, &c. ; and the substitution of Voice for 
Breath forms is likewise common in the words if, us, 
transact, philosophic, &c, pronounced, iv, uz, tranzact, 
phiiozophic, &c. 

174. The omission of Y before ee, and of W before oo, 
as in year, yield, wool, &c, is another northern peculiar- 
ity. Ludicrous ambiguities sometimes arise from these 
omissions; as when we hear of an old man "bending 
under the weight of (y)ears and infirmities." 

175. The addition of a guttural effect to H and Wh is 
a Celtic peculiarity — harsh and unpleasing to the unac- 
customed ear. 

176. The pronunciation of t before the syllabic sounds 
of V and 'n in cas/le, apos/le, pes/le, often, is a Scotticism 
almost confined to these words. 



XVII. HIBERNICISMS OF ARTICULATION. 

177. Irish Articulation is characterized by a general 
looseness of oral action, w T hich gives a peculiar softness 
to the transition from an obstructive articulation to the 
succeeding vowel. The effect is coarsely imitated by in- 
terpolating an h between the elements, as in p(h)ut for 
put, t(h)ake for take, c(h)oat, for coat, &c. 

178. The sound of/, especially at the end of a word, 
is, from the same cause, but little different from that of 
s ; such words as bet and hat being pronounced nearly as 
bess and hass. 



$6 AMERICANISMS SYLLABIC QUANTITY. 

179. The sound of /final is formed with a convexity 
of the middle of the tongue which gives the / the effect of 
Italian^/, as in well, smile, till, &c, where the final ele- 
ment has almost the sound of eel. This is the converse 
of the Scotch peculiarity noticed in par. 170 where / has 
the open quality of ul. 

180. The sound of S before an articulation has the ef- 
fect of Sh ; as in sky, scrape, sleep, snow, star, stripe, 
sweet, &c, pronounced shky, shcrape, shleep, &c. 

XVIII. AMERICANISMS OF ARTICULATION. 

181 . The leading Americanism of Articulation is asso- 
ciated with the letter R. This element has none of the 
sharpness of the English R, which, however softly, is 
struck from the tip of the tongue. The American R has 
a very slight vibration, with the tongue almost in the po- 
sition for the French vowel e mute. The high convex 
position of the tongue for the American R final or before 
an articulation — when the sound is almost that of the 
English Y — has been noticed in par. 112. 

182. The feeble and indefinite vibration of the Amer- 
ican articulate R leads to a habit of labializing- the sound 
when it is between vowels, as in very, spirit, &c. This 
gives a firmness to the articulation, but altogether changes 
its character : the R becomes long and almost syllabic. 
Thus : ve-wr-y, spi-wr-it, &c. 



XIX. SYLLABIC QUANTITY. 

183. Two degrees of vowel quantity — long and short, 
— are generally recognized, but there are many minuter 
degrees arising from the influence of articulations on pre- 
ceding vowels. Thus all vowels are comparatively short 
before Breath articulations, and comparatively long before 
Voice articulations ; but they are snorter before another 
vowel than before any articulation. Among vowels 
separately considered, there are three degrees of quantity ; 
I. Short monophthongs ; II. Long monophthongs ; III. 
Diphthongs. Among articulations there are Jive degrees ; 
I. Breath Obstructive; II. Breath Continuous; III. 



SYLLABIC QUANTITY. 



57 



Voice Obstructive ; IV. Voice Close Continuous ; V. 
Voice Open Continuous, — or Liquids. 

184. The Open Continuous Articulations, or Liquids, 
are L, and the Nasals M, N, and Ng. R has been com- 
monly included as a Liquid, but it has none of the coales- 
cent and quantitative characteristics of the Liquid. The 
term " Liquid " is properly applied only to elements that 
flow into, and seem to be absorbed by, the articulation 
that follows. L, M, N, and Ng are peculiarly affected 
by the succeeding articulation. Before Breath articula- 
tions, they are so extremely short as hardly to add any 
perceptible quantity to the syllables, as in lap and lamp, 
quit and quilt, jlit and Jlint, thick and think, &c. : but 
before Voice Articulations they are long and sonorous, 
and add greatly to the duration of the syllabic utterance ; 
as in head and held, bad and band, juggle and jungle, 
&c. R is so softened away as almost to lose all articula- 
tive quality before an articulation ; but its sound is not ab- 
sorbed as that of the Liquids ; — it is rather slurred and 
omitted. 

185. The following Lists contain examples of Mono- 
syllabic Combinations arranged in the order of their quan- 
titative duration, — the shortest first. 

186. Breath Articulations. 



I. 


Up, sit, black. 


11. 


Gulfs, healths, tenths, 


2. 


If, both, gas, wash. 




nymphs, lengths. 


3- 


Help, felt, elk, tent, lamp, 


12. 


Adepts, sects. 




dreamt, bank. 


13- 


Shap'st, sat'st, patched. 


4- 


Self, health, else, Welsh, 




next. 




ninth, dance, nymph, 


14. 


Thefts, asps, costs, desks. 




strength. 


iS- 


Fifths. 


5- 


Apt, act. 


16. 


Twelfths. 


6. 


Steps, depth, feast, eighth 


17. 


Help'st, halt'st, filched, 




(t-th), watch, ox. 




milk'st, want'st, 


7- 


Left, wasp, fast, ask. 




flinched, limp'st, 


8. 


Safes, fifth, deaths. 




tempt'st, think'st. 


9- 


Gulped, milked, stamped, 


18. 


Texts. 




inked. 


19. 


Sixths. 


[p. 


Alps, bolts, belch, bulks, 








prints, inch, imps, 








tempts, thanks. 







58 DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS. 

187. Voice Articulations. 



I. 


Babe, trade, plague. 


9- 


Graves, bathes. 


2. 


Leave, bathe, ease, rouge. 


10. 


Helm. 


3. 


Ale, lame, own, tongue. 


11. 


Bulbed. 


4- 


Bulb, old, hemmed, end, 


12. 


Bulbs, builds, bilge, lands 


5- 


wronged. 
Delve, ells, aims, bronze, 


1 3- 


finds, fringe 
Delved, bronzed. 


6. 

7- 
8. 


pangs. 
Stabbed, begged. 
Cabs, adge, edge, eggs. 
Saved, seethed, grazed, 

rouged. 


14. 

16. 

i7- 
18. 


Shelves. 

Helmed. 

Films. 

Judged. 

Bilged, changed. 




188. Mixed Articulations. 


x . 


Breadth. 


5- 


Hold'st. 


2. 


Stabb'st, add'st, begg'st. 


6. 


Delv'st. 


3- 


Striv'st. 


7- 


Lov'd'st. t 


4- 


Fail'st. 




i 



XX. DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS. 

189. In many of the above combinations there is a dif- 
ficulty of distinct enunciation which will be readily re- 
moved by reference to the principle explained in par. 154. 
Give to every articulation its appropriate " action." 

190. A tendency to indistinctness is especially felt in 
combinations of the Breath Obstructives — such as pt and 
kt, which are of very frequent occurrence. All verbs 
ending in p or k have the sounds of pt or kt in the past 
tense, as stopped, walked, &c. The following is a list 
of words for exercise. Pronounce the pt and ct like the 
words "pit " and " kit" whispered : — 

Apt, strapped, kept, slept, whipped, shipped, lopped, cupped, 
shaped, steeped, piped, hoped, cooped, chapter, styptic, reptile, 
rapture, captain ; act, tact, sect, erect, strict, hacked, shocked, 
ducked, poked, looked, walked, ached, leaked, liked, cactus, 
lacteal, affected, lecture, picture, dictate, instructive, octave, 
doctor. 

191. The following words embody similar principles 
of difficulty. Repeat each word several times — quickly 
and with firm accentuation : — 

Acts, beef, beef-broth, chaise, come, copts, cut, cloud-capt, 
eighths, (t-ths,) etiquette, faith, fifths, inked, judged, knitting, 



DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS. 59 

laurel, literal, literally, literary, literarily, linen, little, litter, 
memnon, mimic, move, muff, needle, puff, puffed, plural, pea- 
cock, quick, quaked, quiet, rail, railroad, raillery, ruler, rural, 
rivalry, roller, runnel, saith, sash, sashes, search, such, sects, 
sixths, sooth, soothe, Scotch, slash, sloth, slain, slipped, snail, 
statist, statistics, shuts, this, thither, thief, thatch, thrash, texts, 
twelfths, vivid, vivify, vivification, weave, wife, weep, whiff, whip. 

192. The following phrases and sentences contain ele- 
mentary sequences and alternations which are organically 
difficult. Repeat each sentence two or three times with- 
out stopping : — 

Very well. Farewell in welfare. Puff up the fop. Fine white 
wine vinegar with veal. Velvet weaver. Weave the withes. 
Five wives weave withes. May we vie ? Pretty, frisky, playful 
fellow. A very wilful whimsical fellow. A comic mimic. Move 
the muse by mute manoeuvres. Bring a bit of buttered brown 
bread. Such pranks Frank's prawns play in the tank. A paltry 
portly puppy. Portly poultry. A wet white wafer. Beef tea 
and veal broth. Put the cut pumpkin in a pipkin. Pick pepper 
peacock. Coop up the cook. A bad big dog. A big mad dog 
bit bad Bob. Don't attack the cat, Dick. Keep the tippet ticket. 
Come quickly. Catch the cats. Kate hates tight tapes. Tie tight 
Dick's kite. Geese cackle, cattle low, crows caw, cocks crow. 
The tea-caddy key. The key of the tea-caddy. A knapsack strap. 
Pick up the pips. Take tape and tie the cape. Kate's baked cakes. 
Quit contact. A school coal-scuttle. Put the pot on the top of 
the poop. A great big brig's freight. Bid Bob good bye. Pick 
a pitcher full of pippins. Come and cut the tongue, cook. The 
bleak breeze blighted the bright broom blossoms. Dick dipped 
the tippet and dripped it. Fanny flattered foppish Fred. Giddy 
Kittie's tawdry gewgaws. Kitchen chit-chat. The needy needle- 
woman needn't wheedle. Fetch the poor fellow's feather pillow. 
A very watery western vapour. A sloppy, slippery, sleety day. 
Catch Kate's ten cats. The kitten killed the chicken in the kitchen. 
Six thick thistle sticks. She says she shall sew a sheet. A sure 
sign of sunshine. The sun shines on the shop signs: A shocking 
sottish set of shopmen. Such a sash. A shot-silk sash shop. 
A short soft shot-silk sash. A silly shatter-brained chatterbox. 
Shilly-shally, silly Sally. Sickening, stickling, shilly-shally sil- 
liness. It is a shame, Sam, these are the same, Sam, 'tis all a 
sham, Sam, and a shame it is to sham so, Sam. Fetch six chaises 
Catch the cats. Pas que je sache. She thrust it through the 
thatch. Thrice the shrew threw the shoe. The slow snail's slime. 
A swan swam over the sea, swim, swan, swim, well swam, swan. 
I snuff shop snuff, do you snuff shop snuff? She sells sea-shells. 
Some shjin sunshine. The sweep's suitably sooty suit. A rural 
ruler. Truly rural. Rural raillery. A laurel crowned clown. 
Rob Low's lum reeks. Let reason rule your life. A lump of 



60 ACCENT. 

raw red liver. Literally literary. Railway literature. A lucent 
rubicund rotatory luminary. Robert loudly rebuked Richard, 
who ran lustily roarng round the lobby. Don't run along the 
wrong labyrinth. FLs right leg lagged in the race. Don't run 
tdong the lane in the rain. Lucy likes light literature. Let me 
recollect a little. A li f tle tittle. A little ninny. A little knitting 
needle. Let little Nellie run. A menial million. A million 
minions. A million menial minions. We shall be in an inn in 
an instant. Don't go on, Ann, in an uninanimated manner. 

193. The following phrases and sentences require 
careful attention to avoid ambiguity. Reiterate the am- 
biguous portions without hiatus : — 

Laid in the cold ground, (not coal ground.) Half I see the 
panting spirit sigh, (not spirit's eye.) Be the same in thine own 
act and valour as thou art in desire, (not thy known.) Oh, the 
torment of an ever-meddling memory, (not a never meddling. ) 
All night it lay an ice-drop there, (not a nice drop ) Would that 
all difference of sects were at an end, (not sex.) Oh, studied de- 
ceit, (not study.) A sad dangler, (not angler.) Goodness cen- 
tres in the heart, (not enters.) His crime moved me, (not cry.) 
Chaste stars, (not chase tars.) She could pain noboby, (not pay.) 
Make clean our hearts, (not lean.) His beard descending swept 
fiis aged breast, (not beer.) 



XXI. ACCENT OR SYLLABIC STRESS. 

194. Every word of more than a single syllable has 
one of its syllables made prominent, by superior force 
of articulative or vocal effort: — this is called " accent." 

195. When the accented syllable of a word is the third, 
or any syllable beyond the third, from the beginning, a 
slight accentual stress is laid on some former syllable to 
support a rhythmical pronunciation. Thus : — 

(I.) If the primary accent is on the third syllable a 
secondary accent is on the first ; (II. ) when the primary 
is on the fourth syllable, the secondary may be either on 
the first or second; (III.) when the primary accent is 
on the fifth, the secondary will be on the second syllable, 
or there may be two secondary accents, namely, on the 
first and third syllables ; and, (IV.) when the primary 
accent is on the sixth syllable, there will be two second- 
aries — distributed either on the first and third, the first 
and fourth, or the second and fourth syllables. The 
primary accent never falls beyond the sixth syllable. 



ACCENT. 



6l 



196. The following table exhibits all the varieties of 
English accentuation. The asterisks (*) denote the ac- 
cent; the large dots, secondary accent; and the small 
dots, unaccented syllables. 

197. Table of Verbal Accents. 



* • • * • • * • • • * 

• * *•••■ 



5- 


6. 7. 


8. 


• • • * 

• • • * • 

- • • * ■ • • 


• •••#• j • • • • * • 


* • 


| 


* - ■ 



198. Words Illustrative of the Preceding- Table. 

i. Wayward, temperate, temporary, necessariness. 

2. Away, remember, contemporal, inveterately, un- 
necessarily. 

3. Recommend, contemplation, anatomical, disingen- 
uously, inconsiderableness. 

4. Superintend, epigrammatic, superabundantly. 

5. Misunderstand, subordination, extemporaneous, in- 
valitudinary. 

6. Personification, impracticability. 

7. Antipestilential, indestructibility. 

8. Intercolumniation, incommunicability, incompre- 
hensibility. 

Principles of Accentuation. 

199. The general principles that regulate the position 
of the accent, are the following : — I. The seat of accent 
tends to the penultimate syllables of dissyllables, and to 
the ante-penultimate of polysyllables, if no other princi- 
ple occur to thwart this tendency ; as in aspect, comfort, 
aggravate, orator, &c. 

II. The accent of the primitive word is generally re- 



62 ACCENT. 

tained in derivatives, as in accept, acceptable, commend, 
commendable, &c. 

III. Words of the same orthography, but of different 
J>arts of speech, (especially nouns and verbs,) are gener- 
ally distinguished by difference of accent, as in at'tribute, 
attrib'ute, accent, accent', reb'el, rebel', &c. The verbs 
in such cases have the lower accent. 

IV. Prefixes, terminations, and syllables common to a 
number of words, are generally without accent ; such as 
ab, be, con, in, re, mis, ness, less, ly, full, sion, tion, 
ing, able, ible, ally, ary, &c. 

200. When three or more syllables follow the accent, 
a secondary force is generally accorded to one of them for 
the sake of avoiding, by an agreeable rhythm, the hurry- 
ing effect of a long cluster of unaccented syllables. Thus, 
in such words as the following, the voice will be more or 
less distinctly poised on the second syllables after the 
accent : — 

Ab"dica'tive, accessoriness, arbitrarily, calculatory, figura- 
tively, gentlewoman, indicator, opinionativeness, secretaryship, 
temporarily. 

201. In all the preceding accentual illustrations, the 
primary and secondary accents are separated by one or 
two syllables. They may, however, occur in proximate 
syllables, as in the words A'men", fare' well". In pro- 
nouncing these words, the time of an unaccented sylla- 
ble intervenes between the accents. Thus, " Amen," and 
" eighty men," " farewell," and " fare thee well," occupy 
exactly the same time in utterance. 

202. Words are frequently used in poetry with false 
accentuation. The reader must not sacrifice ordinary 
prose propriety to suit the casual poetic accent. A com- 
promise may generally be effected by accentuating both 
the regularly and the rhythmically accented syllables. 
Thus the words " ravines" and u supreme," in the fol- 
lowing lines, may be pronounced rav'ines' and su'preme' : 

" Ye ice-falls ! ye, that from the mountain's brow 

Adown enormous rav'ines' slope amain !" 
" Our su'preme' foe, in time, may much remit." 



ACCENTS. 63 

Sentential Accents. 

203. In the pronunciation of sentences, the words are 
not delivered with separate accentuation, as in a vocabu- 
lary, but they are collocated into accentual groups, ac- 
cording to grammatical connection and relative value to 
the sense. Certain classes of words are generally unac- 
cented ; such as articles, prepositions, pronouns, aux- 
iliary verbs, and conjunctions. These are primarily 
accented, only when they are used with antithesis. 
The same principles which regulate the secondary ac- 
centuation of single words, apply also to the grammatical 
groups, or " oratorical words." 

204. When words, the accentual syllables of which are 
the same, are used in contrast, the primary accent is 
transposed to the syllable of difference, and the regular 
primary receives a secondary accent ; as in com'prehen"d, 
pronounced com"prehen'd when opposed to ap"prehend', 
lit'erall"y and lit'erar'y, affect' and effect', in'form' 
and re"form', ex"pel' and im"pel', mor"tal'ity and im"- 
mortal'ity, re"lig'ion and ir'relig'ion, &c. This trans- 
position always takes place in the second word of the 
contrasted pair, but not on the first, unless the contrast 
is distinctly instituted on its utterance. 

205. The same principle of contrast or antithesis, ex- 
pressed or implied, regulates the accentuation or emphasis 
of sentences. Any phrase or sentence containing a word 
or idea that has been previously expressed or implied 
in the context, will have the primary accent — or the em- 
phasis — on one of the other words, even though of the 
most subordinate class, conjunction, preposition, pro- 
noun, or article. Much judgement is displayed by a good 
reader in this accentual recognition of included thoughts 
or synonymous expressions. Thus in the word " un- 
feeling " in the following lines, the accent should fall on 
the negative prefix " un," to show that the word " tender," 
before used, includes the idea of " feeling." 

"To each, his sufferings; all are men, 
Condemn'd alike to groan ; 
The tender, for another's pain, 
The unfeeling, for his own." — Gray. 

206. The subject of Emphasis will be found separately 
and fully illustrated in a subsequent section. 



THE 

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION. 



PART SECOND. 



INTONATION AND CLAUSING. 



I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

i . There is an essential difference between the move- 
ments of the voice in speech and in song. In singing, 
the voice dwells monotonously, for a definite time, upon 
every note, and leaps (or sometimes slides) upwards or 
downwards to the next. In speaking, the end of each 
note is invariably a slide, and the voice rarely dwells for 
a measurable space on any part of a note, but is con- 
stantly changing its pitch by upward or downward move- 
ment, or i}iJlexion. 

2. The kind and degree of inflexion with which words 
are pronounced are peculiarly expressive of their rela- 
tion to the context, or to the feeling of the speaker. Thus 
the rising turns are connective, referential, dubious, 
appellatory, or tender in expression ; and the falli?zg 
inflexions are disjunctive, independent, positive, 7Jian- 
datory, or harsh. 

3. The vocal expressions constitute a Natural Lan- 
guage, of the import of which mankind are intuitively 
conscious. The language of tones is most perfectly de- 
veloped when the feelings are excited, and the speaker 
is free from all restraint. Children, before their utterance 
has become denaturalized by school-discipline in " read- 
ing," speak with the most beautifully expressive intona- 
tion ; and all persons of sprightly, temperament deliver 
themselves, in animated conversation, with little short 
of the expressive perfection of infantile oratory. 

5 



66 



MECHANISM OF INFLEXIONS. 



4. The universally observed difference in the intona- 
tions of reading and speaking arises, in a very great 
measure, from the manner in which children are allowed 
to read — in entire ignorance or neglect of the principles 
of intonation. A natural expressiveness may, and should, 
be given, even to the A, B, C, or the Multiplication 
Table. 



II. MECHANISM OF THE INFLEXIONS. 

5. Inflexions are either simple or compound in mech- 
anism. Simple inflexions consist of two points : — the 
pitch, accented ; and the termination, unaccented. 
Thus :— 



rising, . • (') 



falling, ' . (v) 



Compound inflexions consist of three points, by the union 
of the two simple movements with one accent. Thus : — 



rising, 



M 



falling, .-. (/s) 



6. The most important fundamental principle of in- 
flexion is primarily a mechanical one ; for, if the inflex- 
ions are faultily formed, they will be neither pleasing nor 
expressive, but harsh to the ear, false to the sentiment, 
and injurious to the voice. An illustrative diagram will 
best explain this principle. 

Simple Inflexions. 



I 


2 


3 


4 


7 

/ 




/ 


\ 


\ 


\ > 


/ 





This diagram represents the speaking voice divided into 
an upper and a lower half, the middle line denoting the 
middle pitch, the upper line the highest, and the lower 
line the lowest pitch. 

7. If inflexions are commenced on the middle tone of 
the voice, as in the first division of the diagram, the 
speaker, manifestly, has but half his vocal compass 



MECHANISM OF INFLEXIONS. 6 J 

through which to range upwards or downwards ; and 
the voice will erack, or croak, shrilly or hoarsely, if a 
forcible or emphatic inflexion be attempted. 

8. Still more limited and powerless will the inflexions 
be, if rising turns are pitched above, or falling turns below, 
the middle tone, as in the second section of the diagram. 

9. Grace and energy are attained by depressing the 
radical part of the inflexion below the middle tone for a 
rise, and by elevating it above the middle tone for a. fall, 
as in the third and fourth sections of the diagram ; the 
greater or less extent of the accentual elevation or depres- 
sion of pitch corresponding to the emphasis of the utter- 
ance. 

10. Thus, the most extensive rising inflexion may not 
actually rise higher than a comparatively weak and un- 
impassioned movement, — but it will begin lower, and 
with greater radical intensity ; and, on the same principle, 
the most extensive falling inflexion will not be that which 
falls lowest, but that which, with radical intensity, begins 
highest. 

1 1 . Unemphatic inflexions are formed as in the first 
and second divisions of the diagram. 

12. The tones are capable of great variety, both in radi- 
cal fitch, and also in extent of inflexion. The rise or fall 
may be made through any interval, and with an almost 
endless diversity of pitch. 

13. The mechanism of the compound inflexions exem- 
plifies the same principles of vocal range. The compound 
Rise consists of a simple falling tone finished with upward 
inflexion ; and its commencement (the accented part) is 
pitched within the lower half of the voice in the less em- 
phatic mode, and in the upper half, in the more emphatic. 
The compound Fall consists of a simple rising tone fin- 
ished by downward inflexion, and its accented commence- 
ment is pitched within the upper half of the voice in the 
less emphatic mode ; and in the lower half, in the more 
emphatic. 

14. In the utterance of these compound tones, the fol- 
lowing principle is to be noted. The voice reaches the 
turning point in the pronunciation of a single syllable. 
The termination of the tone may be prolonged through 



6S • NOTATION OF INFLEXIONS. 

any number of subsequent syllables. The termination 
may extend to the same pitch as the commencement, or 
it may stop short of it, or go beyond it. 

15. The following diagram illustrates the mechanism 
of the compound inflexions. A rising Double Wave is 
exhibited in the third division of the diagram. This 
consists of an ordinary Compound Fall, finished with up- 
ward inflexion. The voice reaches the second turning 
point in the pronunciation of the accented syllable. A 
falling Double Wave is a possible compound tone that is 
never used. Its effect is not pleasing. The rising Double 
Wave is frequently employed, and its effect is beautifully 
expressive. 

, Compound Inflexions * 

Compound Rise. Compound Fall. Double Wave. 






III. NOTATION OF THE INFLEXIONS. 

16. The notation of the inflexions* is founded on the 
principle of their mechanism. The marks are placed 
below the word when the pitch of the accented syllable is 
in the lower half of the voice, and above the word, when 
the inflexion is pitched within the upper half. Thus : — 

Well. Ah! Yes. Go! Not I! Beware! You! Oh! 

17. The notation used in subsequent exercises repre- 
sents four degrees, which, (without any attempt at strict 
musical accuracy,) may be taken to correspond generally 
with the intervals of the second, third, fifth, and octave. 



18. The intervals of the semitone and the minor third 
have a peculiarly plaintive effect. The cry of " Fire !" 
may be assumed as an appropriate key-word, as it is uni- 



See "Expressive Exercises," in a subsequent section. 



EXPRESSIVENESS OF INFLEXIONS. 69 

versally uttered with plaintive intonation. Pronounce 
this word with natural expressiveness, and alternate with 
it any words of fear or sadness, with similar inflexion, 
and the plaintive intervals may be satisfactorily practised 
even by the ' ' ear "-less and unmusical student 
Fire I Fire I Alas I Ah I Well- a- day I Farewell! Ah ?ne ! 



IV. PREPARATORY PITCH. 

19. Inflexion is associated with accent. The radical 
part of the inflexion coincides with the accentual force. 
When any syllable or syllables precede the accent, they 
should be pronounced in the opposite half of the voice — 
high when the accent is low, and low when the accent is 
high. Thus : — 

What now ? Indeed ! All right. Away ! 

Not I ! Take care ! Aha ! Oh really ! 

20. This principle of opposition of preparatory pitch 
gives distinctiveness to two Modes of each inflexion ; the 
one mode having the accent lower, and the other mode 
having the accent higher, than the pre-accentual pitch. 
A farther difference in the expressive force of each tone 
depends on the direction in which the pre-accentual syl- 
lables are inflected, i. <?., whether towards ox from the 
accentual pitch. The latter is in all cases the more em- 
phatic variety. (See Diagrams, page 71.) 



V. EXPRESSIVENESS OF THE INFLEXIONS. 

2 1 . The student, with no other than the mechanical guide 
for the formation of the inflexions, would be apt to form 
jerking and angular tones instead of the smoothly rounded 
transitions of natural intonation. The following sum- 
mary of the expressiveness of the various vocal move- 
ments will assist in giving to the exercises that quality 
of conversational effect which is, above all, to be culti- 
vated. 



70 EXPRESSIVENESS OF INFLEXIONS. 

I. Rising Tones appeal : — 

i . To bespeak attention to something to follow. 

2. For solution of doubt. 

3. For an expression of the hearer's will. 

4. To question possibility of assertion. 

II. Falling Tones assert : — 

1 . To express completion of a statement. 

2. To express conviction. 

3. To express the speaker's will. 

4. To express impossibility of denial. 

22. Compou7td tones unite with the ordinary effect of 
the rising or falling termination, a suggestion of antithe- 
sis, or reference to something previously understood. 
Thus:— 

Simple Appeal . . . Will you ? 

Referential Appeal . Will you ? (in view of cer- 
tain circumstances.) 

Simple Assertion . . I will 

Referential Asssertion. I will, (notwithstanding cer- 

tain circumstances.) 

23. The inflexions have also a sentimental as well as a 
logical expressiveness. Thus: — 

Rising tones express attractive sentiments ; as pity? 
admiration, love, &c. 

Falling tones express repulsive sentiments ; as re- 
proach, contempt, hatred, &c. 

24. In practice, always associate some appropriate sen 
timent or logical formula with the various tones. Thus T 
in pronouncing words for inflective exercise, associate 
with — 

Simple Rise, 1st mode, Inquiry; 2d mode, Surprise. 

Simple Fall, " Assertion; " Command. 

Compound Rise, " Remonstrance; " Threatening- 

Compound Fall, " Scorn; " Sarcasm. 



GAMUT OF INFLEXIONS. 



7* 



25. Or prefix, audibly or mentally, to the words to be 
inflected, the formulas subjoined to the Tones in the fol- 
lowing diagrams : — 

Gamut of Inflexions. 
Simple Rise. 





/ 




/ J 


/ 


\ 


/ 


/ 


Is it— 


Can it be — 
Simple Fall. 


\ 


/ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


/ 


\ 


It is— 


It must be — 
Compound Rise. 


\ 


t 


\ ; 


s 1 


\J 


\ 


1 V 


x \S 


It is not— 


It cannot be— 
Compound Fall. 


/"\ 


/ 


1 N /"\ 
\ 


/ \ 


/ 


v 


< 


/ \ 



But it is- 



Or rather — 



26. In applying the formulas " Is it?" "It is," &c, pro- 
nounce them ^emphatically, and in the opposite half 
of the voice to that in which the word to be inflected is 
pitched. Thus : — 



Acid? 

Is it 


Can it be 


Acid? 

• 


It is 


Acid. 

V 


Acid. 

It must be 


It is not 

Acid? 


It cannot be 


Acid? 


Bnt it is 


Acid. 


Or rather 

Acid. 



*J2 EXERCISES ON INFLEXIONS. 



VI. EXERCISES ON THE INFLEXIONS. 

27. Pronounce each of the following words with the 
logical or sentimental expressiveness of the eight varieties 
of speaking tones. Long monosyllables and words which 
begin with the accented syllable, being the easiest of in- 
flexion, are put first. 

Ah, ay, eh, oh, you, he, she, they, we, me, I, now, so, how, no, 
see, go, fie, woe, yours, theirs, ours, mine, none, seem, home, 
here, there, where, all, come, on, gone, shall, her, sir, us, yes, if, 
off, look, it, that, but, not, out, what, up, stop ; — acid, airy, au- 
thor, blessing, circle, city, dogma, doctrine, easy, gorgeous, 
greedy, happy, idle, loving, mighty, murder, queenly, rosy, 
soothing, virtue, welcome; — character, circumstance, calculate, 
dangerous, enemy, feelingly, finical, hardihood, hideous, liberty, 
ornament, plausible, roguery, satisfy, somebody, troublesome, 
victory, yesterday; bibliopole, celibacy, cursorily, despicable, 
elevated, fascinating, gentlemanly, homicidal, intimately, liter- 
ally, literary, mannerliness, meditative, missionary, necessary, 
pettifogger, recreative, serviceable. 

28. Pronounce the following words with well-marked 
preparatory tones in the opposite half of the voice to that 
in which the accented syllable is pitched : — 

Advertisement, away, begone, beware, contemporary, deter- 
mine, disinterested, forsaken, impossible, impracticable, indeed, 
intemperate, litigious, opinionative, remember, satanic, subordi- 
nate, suspicious, uncompromising, undoubtedly; — acrimonious, 
bacchanalian, benefactor, detrimental, disagreeableness, epigram- 
matic, genealogical, hieroglyphic, hypochondriacal, ignominious, 
liberality, notwithstanding, observation, plenipotentiary, recom- 
mendation, understanding. 

29. In such words as the following, containing unac- 
cented or secondarily accented syllables before secondary 
accents, the preparatory tones are susceptible of variety. 

Thus : — Incomprehensibility or Incomprehensibility. 

Artic'ula"tion, cir'cumstan'tial"ity, corrup'tibir'ity, coun'ter- 
rev'olu"tion, demo'raliza"tion, disad'vanta"geously, disqual'ifi- 
ca"tion, ecclesiastical, encyclopaedia, enthu'sias"tic, halluci- 
nation, im'mate'rial"ity, impen'etrabir'ity, imper'spicu"ity, 
impos'sibil"ity, in'comprehen'sibil"ity, in'commu'nicabir'ity, 
in'deter'mina"tion, in'tercommu'nica"tion, irrep'arabir'ity, ir- 
rep'rehen"sibleness, i'soper'imet/'rical, person'ifica"tion. 



EXERCISES ON INFLEXIONS. 73 

30. Pronounce the following sentences, &c, with the 
tones indicated : — 

Consultative. Communicative. 

Are you going? I must, at once. 

Can you not stay? .... Unfortunately, I cannot. 

Indeed? Indeed. 

V 

Suggestive. 

vr _/\ . , 

Don't fail ! Certainly not. 

Well, be sure! Sure? Why? 



You will find out ! . . . . Really ! 

Yes, indeed ! Indeed ! 

Passionate. 

Do you mock me ? . . . . Away with you ! 

:\ 

Hah ! . . . • Begone ! 

:• 

\s 

I will not be threatened ! . There's a hero ! 

s\ 

Plaintive. 
Ah me ! Too true ! No more ? No more ! 



VII. RESUME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF MECHANISM. 
MELODY AND MEANING OF THE INFLEXIONS. 

31 . (I.) The beginning, relatively to the end, of a sim- 
ple rising inflection is low ; of a simple falliizg inflection, 
high. 

(II.) The inflection begins on the accent; which is 
thus pitched comparatively low for a rising, high for a 
falling inflection. 

(III.) The rise or fall is continued directly upwards 
or downwards from the accent, throngJi whatever num- 
ber of unaccented or secondarily accented syllables may 
follow. 



74 VERBAL GROUPING. 

(IV.) Any syllables before the accent are pronounced 
from an opposite pitch — high before a low accent, low 
before a high, to increase the emphasis of the accentual 
elevation or depression. 

(V.) Rising tones appeal; Falling tones assert. 

(VI.) The Compound Rise consists of a falling or as- 
sertive tone, followed by a rising or querulous one, and 
expresses a query with insinuated assertion. 

(VII.) The Compound Fall consists of a rising or 
querulous, followed by a falling or assertive tone, and 
expresses an assertion with insinuated query. 

(VIII.) The rising Double Wave has the logical effect 
of the ordinary compound rise, but with peculiar em- 
phasis. 

(IX.) The melody of preparatory pitch is the same 
for the compound as for the simple movements. 



VIII. PRINCIPLES OF VERBAL GROUPING. 

32. The principles on which words are phraseologi- 
cally united furnish a series of exercises of the very high- 
est utility, as affording means of careful application of all 
the orthoepic and inflective principles. The following 
stages of verbal grouping should each be separately 
practised in the reading of varied styles of composition, 
until facility of spontaneous grouping is attained. The 
exercise is, besides, valuable as a grammatical one. 

Stages of Verbal Grouping: 

33. 1st Stage. Pronounce every word with separate 
accentuation and inflexion, except the articles a, an^ 
and the. 

war. — H. More. 

O, — war ! — the proof — and — scourge — of — man's — fall'n — state I 

After —the brightest — conquest — what — appears — 

Of — all — thj — glories? — for — the vanquished, — chains ! 

For — the proud — victors, — what? — Alas ! — dominion — 

O'er — desolated — nations ! 



34. 2d Stage. Unite prepositions (as well as arti- 
cles) in one accentual group with the words to whicl 



VERBAL GROUPING. 75 

they refer. Include in this stage the sign of the infini- 
tive mood {to) and also prepositions used adverbially as 
accented additions to verbs; as "to put up," " to go 
by," &c. 

TRUE GREATNESS. 

A contemplation — of God's — works, — a voluntary — act — of 
justice— to our — own — -detriment, — a generous — concern — for 
the good — of mankind, — tears — shed — in silence — for the misery 
— of others, — a private — desire — of resentment — broken — and — 
subdued, — an unfeigned — exercise — of humility, — or — any — 
other — virtue, — are — such — actions — as — denominate — men — 
great — and — reputable. 



35. 3d Stage. Connect personal or relative pronouns 
with verbs ; as the person — who did it — told me — the 
fact.'''' Include also. — as /^personal pronouns, — the 
words there and so, when used as in the sentences, 
" there may — there is — there 'will — do so — I say so" 
When a pronoun is the "antecedent" to a relative, it 
will be accented, (but not necessarily emphatic.) as in 
the sentence, " His first field against the infidels proved 
fatal to him who, in the English Avar, had seen seventy 
battles." Otherwise the pronoun is always z^accented, 
except in case of antithesis, when the pronoun becomes 
emphatic. 

THE SECRET OF CONTENT. 

In whatever — state — I am, — I — first — of all — look up — to 
heaven, — and — remember — that — the principal — business — here 
— is, — how — to get — there. I — then — look down — upon the 
earth, — and — call — to mind — how — small — a portion — I shall — 
occupy — in it — when — I come — to be — interred; — I — then — look 
abroad — into the world, — and — observe — the multitudes — who, — 
in many — respects, — are — more — unhappy — than — myself. Thus 
— I learn — where — true — happiness — resides, — where — every — 
care — must — end ; — and — I — then — see — how — very — little — rea- 
son — I have — to complain. 



36. 4th Stage. Join adjective and relative pronouns 
to nouns ; as " that man, which man," &c. Include 
also the numerals one, two, three, &c, first, second, 
third, &c, and such words as such, none, all, both, 
some, &c. The compound pronominal adjectives, my 



76 VERBAL GROUPING. 

own, /us own, &c, may be considered as one word. Do 
not group words of this class with verbs ; for the noun 
must always be understood between the pronominal 
word, or numeral, and the verb. The pronoun is unac- 
cented, except in case of antithesis, or when it is " ante- 
cedent " to a relative, as in the sentence : — 

" I clip high climbing thoughts, 

The wings of swelling pride; 
Their fall is worst that from the height 

Of greatest honour slide." 

eventful epochs. — Emerson. 

Real — action — is — in silent — moments. — The epochs — of our 
life — are — not — in the visible — facts — of our choice — of a call- 
ing, — our marriage, — our acquisition — of an office, — and — the 
like ; but — in a silent — thought — by the wayside — as — we walk ; 
in a thought — which revises — our entire — manner — of life, — and — 
says, — " Thus — hast thou — done, — but — it were — better — thus." 
And — all — our after — years, — like — menials, — do — serve — and — 
wait — on this, — and, — according — to their ability, — do — execute 
— its will. 



37. 5th Stage. Accentuate into one group auxiliary 
with principal verbs when no adverbial word or phrase 
intervenes. 

the fine arts. — Emerson. 

Because — the soul — is — progressive, — it — never — quite — re- 
peats itself, but — in every act — attempts — the production — of a 
new — and — fairer — whole. Thus — in our Fine — Arts — not — im- 
itation,- — but — creation — is — the aim. In landscape, — the painter 
— should give — the suggestion — of a fairer — creation — than — we 
know. The details, — the prose — of Nature, — he should omit, — 
and — give us — only — the spirit — and — splendour. Valuing — 
more — the expression — of Nature — than — Nature — herself, — he 
will exalt — in his copy — the features — that please him. He will 
give — the gloom — of" gloom, — and — the sunshi.ne — of sunshine. 



38. 6th Stage. Unite adverbs with the adjectives 
or adverbs which they qualify (not adverbs with verbs) ; 
and the negatives no and not, with whatever they refer to. 



VERBAL GROUPING. ^Jr 

THE FIRMAMENT. — Toung. 

One sun — by day, — by night — ten thousand — shine; 

And — light us — deep— .into the Deity; 

How boundless — in magnificence — and — might! 

Oh, — what a confluence — of ethereal — fire, 

From urns — unnumber'd — down the steep — of heaven, 

Streams — to a point, — and — centres — in my sight! 

Nor — tarries — there ; — I feel it — at my heart ! 

My heart — at once — it humbles, — and — exalts ; 

Lays it — in dust, — and — calls it — to the skies. 



39. 7th Stage. Unite next in the same group or " ora- 
torical word," adjectives and the nouns they qualify. 
Tzvo adjectives cannot be connected, as there is between 
them a necessary ellipsis of the noun. In this and the 
following stages, be especially careful to accentuate the 
groups according to the relative value of the words. The 
noun will generally take the primary accent/'" but some- 
times, the adjective ; and, often, both will require an 
equal accentuation — emphatic or unemphatic. 

REMEMBRANCE. — W. E. Aytoutl. 

I, — who was — fancy's lord, — am — fancy's slave, 
Like — the low murmurs — of the Indian shell, 
Ta'en — from its coral bed, — beneath the wave, 
Which, — unforgetful — of the ocean's swell, 

* An erroneous rule has been commonly propounded, that the 
chief accent should be always on the qualifying or limiting 
word. The primary accent cannot be always on either the one 
or the other, but it is more frequently on the qualified than on 
the qualifying word. Thus, in Pope's short poem of the " Mes- 
siah," 103 adjective clauses occur; in 39 of these the adjectives 
and nouns are of equal value (equally emphatic or equally 
subordinate) ; in 46 the nouns are of superior value to the ad- 
jectives ; and in only 18 the adjectives require to be primarily 
accented. In further illustration, the adjective clauses are here 
collected from two compositions, with which every reader must 
be familiar : — 

" The pathless woods ;" " the lonely shore ;" "the deep sea;" "thou deep 
and dark blue ocean •" " ten thousand fleets ;" " rock-built cities ;" " oak levi- 
athans;" " huge ribs ;" " clay creator ;" " vain title ;" " azure brow ;" " glo- 
rious mirror ;" " funeral note ;" " farewell shot ;" " struggling moonbeams' misty 
light;" " useless coffin ;" " martial cloak ;" " few and short were the prayers;" 
" narrow bed ;" " lonely pillow ;" " heavy task ;" " distant and random gun ;" 
" cold ashes." 

In two-thirds of these adjective phrases the nouns require the 
primary accent. [See " Emphasis," in a subsequent section.] 



78 VERBAL GROUPING. 

Retains, — within its mystic urn, — the hum — 
Heard — in the sea-grots, — where — the Nereids — dwell — 
Old thoughts — still — haunt me, — unawares — they come- 
Between me — and — my rest, — nor — can I make — 
Those aged visitors — of sorrow — dumb. 



40. 8th Stage. Copulative particles may next be 
united with the connected word that follows them ; but 
if they are not immediately followed by the word or 
words which they unite in sense, they must stand apart, 
and be separately accented and inflected, as in the fol- 
lowing sentence : — ■ 

" I shall call, — and — if posible, — ascertain — the 
fact." 

jf9z'.sjunctives, such as but, nor, &c, frequently require 
separate pronunciation. 

stability of nature. — Rogers. 

Who — first — beholds — those everlasting clouds, 

Seed time — and harvest, — morning, — noon, — and night, 

Still— where — they were, — steadfast, — immovable ; 

Who— first — beholds— the Alps,— that mighty chain — 

Of mountains,— stretching on — from east — to west; 

So massive, — yet — so shadowy, — so ethereal, 

As to belong — rather — to heaven — than earth, — 

But — instantly — receives — into his soul — 

A sense, — a feeling — that he loses not; 

A something — that informs him — 'tis — a moment — 

Whence — he may date — henceforward — and forever. 



41 . 9th Stage. The predicate that follows the verb 
t.) be, whether it consist of a single word or of a clause, 
— may be united with the verb in one accentual group : as, 
" To be thus — is nothing — but- — to be safely thus I " 

human progress. — Christian Philosophy. 

Man, — even — in his inglorious — and fallen state, — is eminently 
fitted — for progression — in knowledge. There is the eye — to per- 
ceive, — the soul — to understand, — the ear — to attend, — and the 
'judgement — to ponder; — there are the senses — to supply — mate- 
rial, — and the memory — to store up — the treasures. By deep cau- 
sation — man — reasons — on first principles — and chief laws, — and 
— by analogy — compares — and contrasts. From the lower steps — 
of the intellectual ladder, — he — gradually — ascends — to the high- 



VERBAL GROUPING. 79 

est regions — of abstract thought — and reflection. The alphabet — 
may be the child's first study, — the heaven — of heavens — the 
theme — of his manly contemplations. — As a child — he may whip 
— his top — in the street, — or roll — his hoop— on the path ; — as a 
man, — he measureth — the heavens, — and reckoneth— with mathe- 
matical precision — the revolutions — of the planetary worlds. 
From the hyssop — he goeth on — to the cedar, — from the wonders 
— of nature — to those — of providence, — and— from both, — by a 
spiritual flight, — to the higher regions — of grace. With elasticity 
— of mind, — in connection — with physical vigour, — and the cul- 
tivation — of the moral sense, — none — but God — can tell — where 
— man's soarings — will end, — or his discoveries — terminate. 



42. 10th Stage. Adverbs and adverbial phrases 
may next be united with the verbs they qualify ; also 
interrogative and conditional particles, — such as when, 
■why, if, &c. : as in the sentences, " When I frst came 
here, — it was far otherwise — than it is now; " " If it 
must be done — why, then — there is no remedy." 

sunset. — Alex. Bethune. 

The sun — hath almost reach'd — his journey's close; 

The ray — he sheds — is gentle, — softly bright, 

Pure — as the pensive light — from woman's eyes — 

When kindled up — by retrospective thoughts, 

Wandering — to former scenes — of love — and joy. 

But yet — there is a melancholy tinge — 

In that rich radiance, — and — a passing thought — 

Of things departed, — and of days gone by, 

At such an hour — insensibly will weave 

Itself — into the texture — of the scene. 

Nothing— departs alone : the dying day — 

Bears — with it — many — to the last repose. 

The setting sun, — so gorgeously array'd — 

In beams — of light, — and curtain'd round about — 

With clouds — steeped — in the rainbow's richest dyes ; 

So fair, — so full — of light— and living glory, 

That— with the ancient Persian, — one might deem 

Him — god — of all — he looks upon below, — 

His setting — ushers in — a night — to some — 

Which — morning — shall not break. 



43. nth Stage. The word or clause forming the 
object of a transitive verb or the complemental ex- 
pression of a verb, may next be added to the verb in 



8o VERBAL GROUPING. 

the same oratorical group : as " to love virtue;" " to be- 
come near-sighted ; " " learn — to do good ; " " my own 
tears — have made me blind '," &c. When the "object" 
is the grammatical antecedent to a relative clause, or when 
it stands in the relation of principal to any dependent 
sentence immediately following, it should not be grouped 
with the verb, but with the relative or subordinate to 
which it stands in closer relationship. When there are 
two or more " objects" to one verb, the latter should be 
pronounced by itself, that the equal relation of all the ob- 
jects to the verb may be manifest. In such cases the 
objects will generally take the collective form of a series.* 

REVELATION. 

Should these credulous infidels, — after all, — be in the right, — 
and— this pretended revelation — be all a fable, — from believing 
it — what harm — could ensue ? Would it render princes more ty- 
rannical, — or subjects more ungovernable ? the rich more inso- 
lent, — or the poor more disorderly? Would it make worse 
parents, — or children, — husbands- -or wives, — masters — or ser- 
vants ; — friends — or neighbors ? or — would it not make men more 
virtuous, — and consequently more happy — in every situation? 



44. 1 2th Stage. Complemental clauses, intro- 
duced by prepositions, pronouns, or other parts of speech, 
may be united with the principal words to which they 
relate, when they are necessary to the expression of sense ; 

as, 

"■Child of the sun — pursue thy rapturous /light — 
Mingling-— with her thou lov'st — in fields of light." 

"It was not so much what you said — as your manner of saying 
it — that struck me.'''' 

EXERCISE. 

It is a universal law of nature — that disuse — diminishes the ca- 
pability of things, — while exercise — increases it. The seldomer 
our thoughts are communicated — the less communicable do they 
become; — the seldomer our sympathies are awakened — the less 
ready are they to wake; — and — if social affections be not stirred 
by social intercourse,— like a neglected fire, — they smoulder 
away, — and consign our hearts to coldness. 

* See page 102. 



PAUSING. 8 1 



IX. PUNCTUATION AND PAUSING. 

45. Good clausing is one of the most important quali- 
ties in reading. Clausing does not always coincide with 
punctuation. Commas are inserted in many cases where 
a pause would be inappropriate ; and they are not found 
at the boundaries of many clauses where pauses are es- 
sential to a clear delivery of the meaning. 

46. The comma is used to separate words or clauses in 
apposition, and to disjoin explanatory or qualifying clauses 
from the principal members of a sentence, and from each 
other : the semicolon is employed at the conclusion of a 
dependent sentence ; or of one from which a direct infer- 
ence is drawn ; or of one of a series of connected sentences ; 
or sometimes at the end of an important division of a 
complex sentence : the colon serves to aggregate into one 
period sentences in themselves complete, but more or less 
connected in subject ; or it is used after any recurrence of 
semicolons, to mark a greater division than they indicate : 
and the period shows the completion of an independent 
sentence, or of a series of collateral sentences. A para- 
graph is a typographical division, which shows the end 
of a collection of collateral periods. 

47. The shortest pauses are those slight suspensions 
which are made at the end of an accentual group or ora- 
torical word ; the next in duration are those which sepa- 
rate subordinate clauses from the principal members, 
and from each other ; next are those which separate two 
or more subjects, predicates, objects, or complemental 
clauses in apposition ; somewhat longer are those which 
introduce and conclude parentheses, similes, series, and 
important relative or conditional sentences : the conclusion 
of a dependent sentence requires a slightly increased hi- 
atus ; of an independent sentence a greater one still ; and 
the end of a paragraph, or leading division of a subject, 
a more protracted pause. Besides these regular stops, 
accidental, expectant, or reflective pauses will occur be- 
fore or after important words, to render them emphatic ; 
and longest of all will be those Expressive Pauses, 
which denote listening, anxious watching, &c. 

4S . There can be no good reading without frequent and, 
6 



82 PAUSING. 

sometimes, long pauses. They convey an effect of spon- 
taneity, which rivets the attention of the hearer ; while 
unbroken fluency, especially in the reading of complex 
sentences, will never sustain attention, because it is man- 
ifestly accompanied with no thought on the part of the 
reader. Appropriate clausular pausing will lead the rea- 
der to think, and it will make him seem to do so even 
when he does not. For he must always — 

"Assume this virtue, if he have it not." 
49. The following example illustrates the difference 
between oratorical pausing and ordinary punctuation. 
As these stanzas are usually printed, commas are inserted 
after " night," " storm" and " darkness ;" and no mark 
of punctuation is used after " sky," " eye," " along," 
" Jura," " this," " me," " sharer," " tempest," " rain," 
" again," " now," " hills" and " rejoice." 

THUNDER-STORM AMONG THE ALPS.* — Byron. 

The sky — is changed ! — and such a change — O — night 
And storm and darkness — ye are wondrous strong — 
Yet lovely in your strength — as is the light 
Of a dark eye — in woman! — Far along — 
From peak to peak the rattling crags among — 
Leaps the live thunder! — not from one lone cloud — 
But every mountain — now hath found a tongue — 
And Jura — answers through her misty shroud — 
Back to the joyous Alps — who call to her aloud. 

And this — is in the night! — Most glorious night! — 

Thou wert not sent for slumber! — let me — be 

A sharer — in thy fierce and far delight — 

A portion — of the tempest and of thee ! 

How the lit lake shines — a phosphoric sea — 

And the big rain — comes dancing to the earth — 

And now again — 'tis black — and now — the glee 

Of the loud hills — shakes with its mountain mirth — 

As if they did rejoice — o'er a young earthquake's birth. 



X. EMPHATICAL DISJUNCTIONS OF WORDS. 

50. Words which in ordinary utterance are collocated 
into one group, will be separated in emphatic pronun- 

* A key to the emphatic words in these stanzas is given in a 
subsequent section. 



PAUSING. 83 

ciation. The hearer's attention is excited, and curiosity 
awakened, for the word which the speaker stops to in- 
troduce ; especially when the syntactical construction is 
such as to admit of no break in ordinary delivery. Thus, 
between the pronoun and the verb ; the auxiliary and the 
principal verb ; the verb and its object or complement; 
the article, preposition, or adjective, and the noun, &c. ; 
as in the following passages : — 

" O, sir, your — honesty — is — remarkable." 
" Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself 

Are much condemned to have — an — itching palm !" 
" Shall I bend low, and, in a bondsman's key, 

With bated breath and — whispering humbleness, 

Say this — 

1 Fair sir ! you — spit on me on Wednesday last ; 

You — spurned me, such a day; another time 

You called me — dog ; and for these — courtesies, 

I'll — lend you thus much monies.' " 

"If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his — humility? — Revenge. 
If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his — sufferance be, by — 
Christian — example ? — Why, revenge ! " 

" Hear him, my lord; he's — wondi*ous condescending; 
Mark the — humility — of — shepherd Norval." 



XI. STACCATO PRONUNCIATION. 

51. In strong emotion, each accent, or even every syl- 
lable, may be separately inflected. This staccato pro- 
nunciation, is especially used in exclamatory surprise 
or interrogation ; as in the following illustrations : — 

" Ian itching palm ? " 

" Gone to be married? Gone to swear a peace?" 

" Dost thou stand by the tombs of the glorious dead?" 

" And fear not to sav that their son hath fled? " 
• • • • • 

" Away! he is lying by lance and shield ! " 
" Point me the path to his battle-field ! " 



84 CLAUSING EXERCISES. 

52. The Mechanism, and Expressiveness of the vocal 
movements or inflexions, and their application to verbal 
and clausular accents, have now been explained and illus- 
trated. Let the student perfectly master these principles, 
and, by exercise, acquire the power to pronounce spon- 
taneously any accentual combination of syllables, in each 
of the Modes, both of Simple and Compound inflexion, 
before proceeding further. He who is ambitious of ex- 
cellence in Elocution must thus patiently cultivate his 
voice to execute, and his ear to appreciate, separately, 
the fundamental requisites of correct delivery, before he 
attempts to apply them in Expressive Reading. 

53. The practice of clausular reading, with proper ac- 
centuation and with varied well-defined inflexions accom- 
panying every utterance, will be found speedily and per- 
fectly effectual in imparting flexibility to the voice, 
and in removing habits of monotony, or other inexpres- 
sive mannerism in Reading. The following selection of 
short passages in Prose and Poetry furnishes material 
for exercise. These passages should be read in accord- 
ance with each of the separate stages of grouping, illus- 
trated in this section. 



XII. PASSAGES FOR EXERCISE IN THE GRAMMAT- 
ICAL GROUPING OF WORDS. 

AN ANCIENT TEMPLE. — Blair. 

See yonder hallowed fane ! the pious work 

Of names once famed, now dubious or forgot, 

And buried midst the wreck of things that were : 

There lie interred the more illustrious dead. 

The wind is up : hark! how it howls ! Methinks, 

Till now, I never heard a sound so dreary, 

Doors creak, and windows clap, and night's foul bird, 

Rook'd in the spire, screams loud ; the gloomy aisles, 

Black plastered, and hung round with shreds of scutcheons, 

And tattered coats of arms, send back the sound, 

Laden with heavier airs, from the low vaults, 

The mansions of the dead. 

ANIMAL ENJOYMENT. — Cowper. 

The heart is hard in nature, and unfit 
For human fellowship, as being void 



CLAUSING EXERCISES. 85 

Of sympathy, and therefore dead alike 

To love and friendship both ; that is not pleased 

With sight of animals enjoying life, 

Nor feels their happiness augment his own. 

ANGER. 

I have remarked that the declamations of angry men make 
little impression on those who are not themselves angry. Rea- 
sonable men love reason. 

CHEERFULNESS. 

A cheerful temper, joined with innocence, will make beauty 
attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured ; it will 
lighten sickness, poverty, and affliction ; convert ignorance into 
an amiable simplicity, and render deformity itself agreeable. 

CONSTANCY IN VIRTUE. 

The bird let loose in Eastern skies, 

When hastening fondly home, 
Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, or flies 

Where idle wanderers roam ; 
But high she shoots, through air and light, 

Above all low delay, 
Where nothing earthly bounds her flight, 

Or shadow dims her way. 
So grant me, God, from every stain 

Of sinful passion free, 
Aloft through virtue's purer air, 

To steer my course to Thee ! 
No sin to cloud, no lure to stay 

My soul, as home she springs ; 
Thy sunshine on her joyful way. 

Thy freedom on her wings. 

CONTENTMENT. 

When you are rich, praise God for His abundant bounty ; when 
poor, thank Him for keeping you from the temptations of pros- 
perity ; when you are at ease, glorify Him for His merciful kind- 
ness ; and when beset with affliction and pain, offer thanksgiving 
for His merciful remindings that you are approaching your end. 

critics . — Erne rson. 

The eye of a critic is often, like a microscope, made so very 
fine and nice that it discovers the atoms and minutest particles, 
but cannot comprehend the whole, so as to compare the parts, 
and perceive at once the general harmony. 



86 CLAUSING EXERCISES. 



DESIRE OF DISTINCTION. 

The desire of distinction in the world is a commendable quality 
when it excites men to the performance of illustrious actions ; 
but this ambition is so seldom directed to its proper end, and is 
so little scrupulous in the choice of the means which it employs 
for the accomplishment of its purpose, that it frequently ruins 
the morals of those who are actuated by it; and thus, for the 
pleasure of being lifted up for a moment above the common level 
of mankind, many a man has forfeited his character with the wise 
and good, and inflicted wounds on his conscience, which the balm 
of flattering dependants can never heal. 

DESIRES UNLIMITED. 

The desires of man increase with his acquisitions; every step 
that he advances brings something within his view that he did 
not see before, and which, as soon as he sees it, he begins to 
want. Where necessity ends, curiosity begins ; and no sooner 
are we supplied with every thing that nature can demand, than 
we sit down to contrive artificial appetites. 

employment. — Baillie. 

The bliss, e'en of a moment, still is bliss, 

What! would'st thou, of her dew-drops spill the thorn, 

Because her glory cannot last till noon? 

Or still the lightsome gambols of the colt, 

Whose neck to-morrow's yoke will gall ? Fie on't ! 

If this be wise, 'tis cruel. 

forgiveness. — Lady E. Carevj. 

The fairest action of our human life 

Is scorning to revenge an injury; 
For who forgives, without a further strife, 

His adversary's heart to him doth tie. 



fortune's frolics. — Chap 



man. 



Fortune, the great Commandress of the world, 

Hath diverse ways to enrich her followers ; 

To some, she honours gives without deserving, 

To other some, deserving without honour ; 

Some wit, some wealth, and some wit without wealth, 

Some wealth without wit ; some nor wit, nor wealth, 

But taking faces and appearances, 

To make a show without possessing substance. 

hasty anger. — C. Johnson. 

Those hearts that start at once into a blaze, 
And open all their rage, like summer storms 
At once discharg'd, grow cool again as fast, 
And calm. 



CLAUSING EXERCISES. 87 

HUMAN life. — Emerson. 

The life of man is a self-evolving circle, which, from a ring im- 
perceptibly small, rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger 
circles, and that without end. 

HUMILITY. — Gill. 

Generally speaking, those who have the most grace, and the 
greatest gifts, and are of the greatest usefulness, are the most 
humble, and think the most meanly of themselves. So those 
boughs and branches of trees which are most richly laden with 
fruit, bend downward, and hang lowest. 

industry. — Emerson. 

Though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourish- 
ing corn can come to a man, but through his toil bestowed on 
that plot of ground which is given him to till. 

INNOCENCE. 

Whence learned she this? O she was innocent! 

And to be innocent is Nature's wisdom ! 

The fledge-dove knows the prowlers of the air, 

Feared soon as seen, and flutters back to shelter. 

And the young steed recoils upon his haunches, 

The never-yet-seen adder's hiss first heard. 

O surer than suspicion's hundred eyes 

Is that fine sense which, to the pure in heart, 

By mere oppugnancy of their own goodness 

Reveals the approach of evil. 

liberality. — Christian Philosophy. 

What should be the model of the Christian's liberality ? Even 
the rich perpetual beneficence of God. Observe the many em- 
blems of this spirit which Nature furnishes. How freely does 
the ocean yield its waters to the empty clouds ; and they, "again, 
how richly do they pour their fertilizing drops, to cheer and bless 
the thirsty earth! The sun, the centre, and the glory of the solar 
system, the material spirit of its light and joy, how plenteously 
his golden beams are scattered through our world ! The earth, 
though cursed by man's transgression, yet yieldcth to the sower 
oftentimes a hundred-fold. The air, the element of life, pervadeth 
every place, that men may breathe it. The orchard, with its 
laden boughs of cooling fruits, presents, with yearly constancy, 
its gifts to men. The avaricious wretch, and sordid selfiing, may 
blush, indeed, to contemplate these emblems of beneficence. 

LIBERTY. 

'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower 
Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume; 



88 CLAUSING EXERCISES. 

And we are weeds without it. All constraint, 

Except what wisdom lays on evil men, 

Is evil ; hurts the faculties, impedes 

Their progress in the road to science ; blinds 

The eyesight of discovery; and begets, 

In those that suffer it, a sordid mind, 

Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit 

To be the tenant of man's noble form. 

light.- 1 Christian Philosophy. 

" Let there be light, " is the mandate of Heaven, and all holy 
intelligences favour its diffusion. Let the light of science, of 
philosophy, and of letters, exalt to intellectuality every nation of 
the earth. Let the light of truth disperse the errors of supersti- 
tion and ignorance from our world. Let the light of revelation 
illumine with saving rays every nation, and kindred, and people, 
and tongue. Let the light of celestial favour form the day of 
hope and rejoicing in every heart of man. Let light be diffused 
from the printing-press, from the village-school, from the college, 
from the institutions of science, and from the sanctuary of relig- 
ion. Let the monarch and the subject, the legislator and the 
governed, the rich and the poor, all unite for its diffusion. 

living merit. — Charles Mackay. 

Who can tell what schemes majestic 
Perish in the active brain — 
What humanity is robbed of, 
Ne'er to be restored again — 
What we lose, because we honour 
Overmuch the mighty dead ? 

And dispirit 

Living merit, 
Heaping scorn upon its head ? 
Or, perchance, when kinder grown, 
Leaving it to die alone? 



Look how the golden ocean shines above 
Its pebbly stones, and magnifies their girth ; 
So does the bright and blessed light of love 
Its own things glorify, and raise their worth. 

MIGHT OF MERCY. — Rotue. 

The narrow soul 
Knows not the God-like glory of forgiving, 
Nor can the cold, the ruthless heart conceive 
How large the power, how fixed the empire is 
Which benefits confer on generous minds. 
Goodness prevails on the most stubborn foes, 
And conquers more than ever sword subdued. 



CLAUSING EXERCISES. 89 



MISFORTUNES. 

The external misfortunes of life, disappointments, poverty, 
and sickness, are light in comparison with those inward dis- 
tresses of mind, occasioned by folly, by passion, and by guilt. 

moodiness. — Shakespeare. 

O, we are querulous creatures ! Little less 
Than nothing can suffice to make us happy; 
And little less than nothing is enough 
To make us wretched. 

mutual dependence. — Emerson. 

There is nothing in the universe that stands alone, — nothing 
solitary. No atom of matter, no drop of water, no vesicle of air, 
or ray of light, exists in a state of isolation. Everything belongs 
to some system of society, of which it is a component and neces- 
sary part. Just so it is in the moral world. — No man stands 
alone, nor high angel, nor child. All the beings "lessening down 
from infinite perfection to the brink of dreary nothing," belong 
to a system of mutual dependencies. All and each constitute and 
enjoy a part of the world's sum of happiness. No one liveth to 
himself. The most obscure individual exerts an influence which 
must be felt in the great brotherhood of mankind. As the little 
silvery circular ripple, set in motion by the falling pebble, expands 
from its inch of radius to the whole compass of the pool, so there 
is not an infant placed, however softly, in his bulrush-ark upon 
the sea of time, whose existence does not stir a ripple gyrating 
outward and on, until it shall have moved across and spanned 
the whole ocean of God's eternity. "To be, or not to be?" is that 
the question? No. — We are ; and whether we live or die, we are 
the Lord's ; we belong to His eternity, and henceforth His moral 
universe will be filled with our existence. 

night.— Blair. 

Night, sable goddess ! from her ebon throne, 
In rayless majesty, now stretches forth 
Her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world. 
Silence how dead ! and darkness how profound ! 
Nor eye nor listening ear an object finds. 
Creation sleeps. 'Tis as the general pulse 
Of life stood still, and N.^ure made a pause, — 
An awful pause, prophetic of her end. 

occupation. 

Occupation cures at least half of life's troubles, and mitigates 
the remainder. A manacled slave, working at the galleys, is 
happier than the self-manacled slave of idleness. 



90 CLAUSING EXERCISES. 

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION. 

Philosophy may destroy the burden of the body, but religion 
gives wings to the soul. Philosophy may enable us to look down 
on the earth with contempt, but religion teaches us to look up to 
heaven with hope. Philosophy may support to the brink of the 
grave, but religion conducts bej^ond it. Philosophy unfolds a 
rich store of enjoyment, which religion makes eternal. 

POTENCY OF COURAGE. — Roive. 

The wise and active conquer difficulties 
By daring to attempt them ; sloth and folly 
Shiver and shrink at sight of toil and hazard, 
And make the impossibility they fear. 

PRAYER AND SUBMISSION. — Milton. 

If I could hope by prayer to change the will 
Of Him who all things can, I would not cease 
To weary Him with my assiduous cries ; 
But prayer against His absolute decree 
No more avails than breath against the wind, 
Therefore, to His great bidding I submit. 

PROGRESS IN GUILT. — Lillo. 

There's nought so monstrous but the mind of man 

In some conditions may be brought to approve ; 

Theft, sacrilege, treason and parricide, 

When flattering opportunity enticed 

And desperation drove, have been committed 

By those who once would start to hear them named. 

SADNESS OF NIGHT. — Young. 

How, like a widow in her weeds, the night, 
Amid her glimmering tapers, silent sits ! 
How sorrowful, how desolate, she weeps 
Perpetual dews, and saddens Nature's scene ! 

self-knowledge. — Enter -son. 

Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, 
yet, perhaps, as few know their own strength. It is in men as in 
soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold, which the owner 
knows not of. 

sources of calamity. — Byron. 

There is an order 
Of mortals on the earth who do become 
Old in their youth, and die ere middle age; 






CLAUSING EXERCISES. 91 

Some perishing of pleasure, some of study, 
Some worn with toil, some of mere weariness, 
Some of disease, and some insanity, 
And some of withered or of broken hearts : 
For this last is a malady which takes 
Variety of shapes and names, and slays 
More than are numbered in the lists of Fate. 

sources of error. — Harris. 

Partial views, the imperfections of sense, inattention, idleness, 
the turbulence of passions, education, local sentiments, opinions, 
and belief, conspire, in many instances, to furnish us with ideas, 
some too general, some too partial, and, what is worse than all 
this, with many that are erroneous, and contrary to truth. These 
it behoves us to correct, as far as possible, by cool suspense and 
candid examination. 

success. — Thomson. 

It is success that colours all in life ; 
Success makes fools admired, makes villains honest: 
All the proud virtue of this vaunting world 
Fawns on success and power, howe'er acquired. 

THE COMMON LOT. — Cowfier. 

All flesh is grass, and all its glory fades, 
Like the fair flower dishevelled in the wind ; 
Riches have wings, and Grandeur is a dream ; 
The man we celebrate must find a tomb, 
And we that worship him, ignoble graves. 

THE GOSPEL. 

There is not an evil incident to human nature, for which the 
gospel doth not provide a remedy. Are you ignorant of many 
things which it highly concerns you to know? — The gospel 
offers you instruction. Have you deviated from the path of 
duty? — The gospel offers you forgiveness. Do temptations sur- 
round you? The gospel offers you the aid of Heaven. Are you 
exposed to misery? — It consoles you. Are you subject to death? 
— It offers you immortality. 

the grave. — Blair. 

When self-esteem, or others' adulation, 
Would cunningly persuade us we were something 
Above the common level of our kind, 
The grave gainsays the smooth-complexion'd flattery, 
And with blunt truth acquaints us what we are. 



92 CLAUSING EXERCISES. 

thoughts. — Christia?i Philosophy. 

Thoughts are the moving ideas of the mind ; the actions of the 
fancy and imagination. Thoughts are the seeds of words, and 
the germ of actions. If the mind is in a state of incessant exer- 
cise, then how numberless must be the thoughts arising there- 
from ! Many thoughts are vain and foolish, and therefore of 
necessity useless. Many thoughts are ungodly and wicked, and 
therefore injurious to the soul, and hateful to God. A watch 
over such thoughts is necessary to prevent their intrusion, and 
holy ejaculations are essential to their expulsion. 

truth. — Christian Philosophy. 

Truth is to fact what the impress is to the seal, the exact tran- 
script. Adherence to truth, the seven-times-heated furnace could 
not consume, nor the hungry lions destroy. Buy truth at any 
price : its cost cannot exceed its worth, or surpass its intrinsic 
value. Whoever possesses truth, holds an inestimable treasure, 
whose currency is admitted in both worlds. 

tyranny. — Brooke. 

Not claim hereditary nor the high 
Anointing hand of Heaven can give a law 
For lawless power, or to injustice bind 
Allegiance. Tyranny absolves all faith ; 
And who invades our rights can never be 
But a usurper. 

TYRANNY OF VICE. — ByrOfl. 

Think'st thou there is no tyranny but that 
Of blood and chains? The despotism of vice, 
The weakness and the wickedness of luxury, 
The negligence of sensual sloth, produces 
Ten thousand tyrants who, in cruelty, 
Surpass the worst of domineering masters, 
However harsh, and hard, and pitiless. 

UNCERTAINTY OF TO-MORROW. 

In human hearts What bolder thought can rise 
Than man's presumption on to-morrow's dawn? 
Where is to-morrow? In another world. 
For numbers this is certain ; the reverse 
Is sure to none. 

variety of endowments. — Wilberforce. 

We have different forms assigned to us in the school of life, 
different gifts imparted. All is not attractive that is good. Iron 
is useful, though it does not sparkle like the diamond. Gold has 
not the fragrance of a flower. So, different persons have differ- 
ent modes of excellence, and we must have an eye to all. 



CLAUSING EXERCISES. 93 

VIRTUE. — ToU7lg. 

Virtue, not rolling suns, the mind matures, 
That life is long which answers life's great end. 
The time that bears no fruit deserves no name ; 
The man of wisdom is the man of years. 

VIRTUOUS PROMPTITUDE. — Rowe. 

A virtuous deed should never be delav'd, 

The impulse comes from Heav'n and he who strives 

A moment to repress it, disobeys 

The god within his mind. 

voices of night. — Baillie. 

How those fallen leaves do rustle on the path, 

With whispering noise, as though the earth around me 

Did utter secret things ! 

The distant river, too, bears to mine ear 

A dismal wailing. O, mysterious night! 

Not silent art thou ; many tongues thou hast. 

WAR. — Christian Philosophy. 

War has dinned the world, and crimsoned the earth, and cursed 
our species for ages upon ages. What has it effected, and 
what are the results which follow in its train? Agricultural ste- 
rility, commercial depression, national enthralment, social woe, 
physical suffering, the unalleviated agonizing pangs of myriads, 
the battle-field strewed with the wounded, the dying, and the 
dead : desolated countries, sacked cities, burning dwellings, de- 
spairing widows and orphans. The sound of trumpets, the clash 
of arms, and the roaring of the cannon, may excite for a season, 
but reflection must follow, both to surviving conquerors and to 
the conquered. And what a reflection ! That they have choked 
the avenues of death with myriads of dark and guilty spirits, 
crowding in fearful horror into the region of Hades. But a time 
is coming, when war shall be hated, reprobated, abhorred, and only 
remembered as a woe and a blight that has passed away for ever. 

well-doing. — Young. 

Who does the best his circumstance allows 
Does well, acts nobly, angels could no more. 

wisdom. — Christian Philosophy. 

Wisdom is that faculty which applieth knowledge to its best use 
and fitteth means for the best end. It looketh to the future, and 
dreameth not of building on the uncertain present. Wisdom 
hath its decided preferences, and its fixed antipathies. It avoid- 
eth precipitancy in matters of moment, and doeth nothing 



94 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 

rashly. It doth not encourage the whisperer, nor hearken to the 
tale-bearer, nor attend to idle rumours. It cherisheth openness 
of demeanour, candour of spirit, and integrity of speech. It deci- 
deth not without ample evidence, and it judgeth not without a 
cause. It sheddeth lustre on every station, age, and condition. 
It is the brightness of the child's eye, the nobleness of the youth's 
countenance, and the dignity of the man of years. 

woman. — Charles Mackay. 

A very woman : — full of tears, 

Hopes, blushes, tendernesses, fears, 

Griefs, laughter, kindness, joys, and sighs, 

Loves, likings, friendships, sympathies; 

A heart to feel for every woe, 

And pity, if not dole, bestow; 

A hand to give from scanty store ; 

A look to wish the offering more. 



XIII. APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF INFLEX- 
ION TO SENTENCES. 

54. As all inflexions may be resolved into two kinds — 
rising and falling— so, all rules for their application may- 
be resolved into two corresponding, general funda- 
mental principles. 

55. (I.) The rising- progression connects what has 
been said with what is to be uttered, or with what the 
speaker wishes to be implied or supplied by the hearer ; 
and this, with more or less closeness and passion, in pro- 
portion to the force and extent of the rise. The rising 
inflexion is thus associated with what is incomplete in 
sense ; or, if apparently complete, dependent on or mod- 
ified by what immediately follows ; with whatever is 
relative to something expressed, or implied ; and with 
what is doubtful, interrogative, or supplicatory. 

56. (II.) The falling progression disconnects what 
has been said from what is to follow ; and this with more 
or less exclusiveness, and passion, in proportion to the 
force and extent of the fall. The falling inflexion is, 
thus, associated with what is complete and i?idependent 
in sense, or intended to be received as such ; and with 
whatever is positive, dogmatical, or mandatory. 

$J. All sentences belong, constructively, to one or 



SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 95 

other of the three classes — assertive, interrogative, 
and imperative ; — as 

(i.) I ara coming. (2.) Are you coming? (3.) Come! 

The following Principles deduced from conversational 
usage regulate the closing inflexion of each kind of sen- 
tence. 

I. Assertive Sentences. 

58. Assertive sentences have normally a falling" ter- 
mination, as predicating facts of which the hearer may be 
presumed to have been previously uninformed ; but when 
they cannot be supposed to communicate information 
they take a rising termination, as in appeal to the hearer's 
consciousness. Thus, 

The sun rises in the east; (implying " does it not?") 
The end of life is death; (implying "is it not?") 

II. Interrogative Sentences.* 

59. Interrogative sentences have normally a rising 
termination ; as relating to facts respecting which the 
speaker may be presumed to be in doubt or ignorance ; 
but when they cannot be supposed to ask for information 
they take a falling termination, as in assertion of what 
the hearer's consciousness must corroborate. Thus, 

Is virtue to be commended? (implying "you know it is.") 

Does rain fall from the clouds ? (implying " you know it does.") 

III. Imperative Sentences. 

60. Imperative sentences have a falling termination 
when they express the speaker's will without reference 
to the will of the hearer, and they have a rising termi- 
nation when they solicit rather than enjoin compliance. 
Thus, 

Remember what I have said; (implying "it is my will.") 
Remember what I have said ; (implying " will you ?") 

*See " Varieties of Interrogative Sentences," p. 98. 



96 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 



XIV. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 

61. Every assertive sentence must consist of at least 
two parts: — (I.) the thing, person, quality, or fact 
spoken of- — the subject ; — and (II.) that which is as- 
serted of the subject — the predicate. Thus, 

John — is speaking. The event — is doubtful. 

62. The subject usually precedes the predicate, but 
this order may be reversed. When both subject and 
predicate are accented, the former of them, in either 
order, terminates with a rising, and the latter, with a 
falling inflexion. 

63. When the subject has been previously expressed 
or implied, or when it is a pronoun, it is pronounced 
without an accentual inflexion, and if it precedes the 
predicate, takes merely the preparatory pitch of an unac- 
cented syllable. Thus, 

John is silent. He has finished. 

64. When the predicate has been previously expressed 
or implied, the same principle applies, and the subject 
alone receives accentual inflexion. 

65. When the subject or predicate is antithetic to 
any other, either expressed or implied, compound in- 
stead of simple tones will be employed. 

66. The predicate may consist of a verb only, or it 
may include also an object or complement. The position 
of the accent will vary according to the sense, but the 
principle of concluding inflexion is the same whether the 
predicate be simple or compound. 

67. An assertive sentence may contain, besides the 
subject and predicate, a third part — the circumstance ; 
which may be either of the adjective class, as qualifying 
the subject, or of the adverbial class, as qualifying the 
predicate. 

68. The circumstance may consist of a single word, 
of a clausular group of words, or of a subordinate sen- 
tence, adverbial, relative, conditional, or participial. 

69. The subordinate clause or sentence may be com- 



SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 97 

plemental of the subject or predicate, — when its accen- 
tuation and inflexion must show it to be a part of the 
principal member ; — or it may be merely explanatory — 
when it must be pronounced with independent tones and 
accents. Thus in the following lines : 

"Behold the emblem of thy state 
In flowers, which bloom and die." 

The principal sentence here terminates with the comple- 
mentary clause ' ' in flowers ;" 

" Behold the emblem of thy state in flowers !" 

and the succeeding relative sentence is an independent 
explanatory addition. Thus : — 

V / 

" Behold the emblem of thy state 

In flowers, [which bloom and die.'' 

70. The subjects and predicates must always be so 
pronounced as to strike upon the hearer's mind with un- 
encumbered distinctness among the most multitudinous 
assemblage of syntactically subordinate clauses or sen- 
tences. The subject and predicate are generally the most 
emphatic parts of a sentence ; they are so always, indeed, 
except when either of them has been previously expressed 
or implied ; or when some opposition or contrast of cir- 
cumstantial clauses or sentences requires their compara- 
tive elevation. 

71. Subordinate clauses or sentences may precede the 
subject, follow the predicate, or intervene between them. 
In the jirst and last cases they will generally terminate 
with rising, and in the second, with falling inflexions — 
subject to the same modifications and varieties, from an- 
tithesis, previous implication, &c, as the subjects and 
predicates themselves. 

72. The predicate may be either an absolute or a con- 
ditional assertion : in the former case it will take the 

falling inflexion, but in the latter, it will require a com- 
pound rising tone to modify its assertiveness and connect 
it with the conditional member or sentence that follows. 

7 



98 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 

Examples. 

Conditional Circum- \ If to do were as easy as to know what 
stance ... J were good to do 

Subject chapels 

Predicate had been churches 

Connective and 

Subject poor men's cottages 

Predicate (had been) princes' palaces. 

Imperative sentence . Look 

Circumstance of manner, how 

Subject the golden ocean 

Predicate shines 

Circumstance of place . above its pebbly stones 

Connective and 

Predicate magnifies 

Object their girth ! 

Circumstance of manner, So 

Auxiliary to predicate, does 

Subject the bright and blessed light of love 

Object its own things 

Predicate glorify 

Connective and 

Predicate raise 

Object their worth. 



XV. VARIETIES OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 

73. When we pronounce any sentence in doubt or ig- 
norance, and with the desire of assurance or information, 
we naturally terminate the utterance with a rising inflex- 
ion, more or less strong, in proportion to the degree of 
our eagerness to be assured or informed. By the tone 
of voice we appeal to the hearer for a satisfactory re- 
sponse ; and this, without reference to the syntactical form 
of construction we employ. The declarative, or even the 
imperative form of composition, may be pronounced with 
an equally interrogative effect to that which is more com- 
monly associated with the interrogative construction. In 
reading, we must not be guided by the mere arrangement 
of the words ; for we often meet with the form of inter- 
rogation when the sentence is not interrogative in mean- 
ing, but, on the contrary, distinctly assertive ; as when 
Cassius says to Brutus — 



SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 99 

V I said an elder soldier — not a better — ■ 

V 

Did I say better f " 

And we frequently find the declarative construction em- 
ployed when the intention is not assertive, but manifestly 
interrogative : as when Cassius further says — 

" You do not love me, Brutus." 

74. Directly interrogative sentences usually have the 
verb preceding the subject; as, '''-will you go?" "when 
will you go?" " went you not with them?" '•'why went 
you not with them?" " does any one accompany you?" 

" who accompanies you?" These questions are of two 
kinds — verbal, and adverbial or pronominal. In 
the verbal class, " will you? went you?" &c, the query 
has reference to the fact in the sentence ; and the con- 
cluding tone is generally rising, as expressive of doubt or 
solicitation. In the adverbial or pronominal class, the 
fact is not called in question, but the query has reference 
to some circumstance attending it — "when? why? 
how? who?" &c, and the concluding tone is generally 
falling, as expressive of the assumed certainty as to the 
fact. 

75. Adverbial and pronominal questions are in fact 
assertive or imperative in their nature. Thus, " Wlien 
will you go? who will accompany you?" imply "Un- 
derstanding that you are going, I ask, (or " tell me") 
when? Expecting that some person will accompany 
you, I ask, who?" But if we are very solicitous to 
gain the information, or are in any doubt as to the fact 
itself, we terminate the question with a rising tone, and 
it then strongly appeals for a response, or becomes both 

a verbal and adverbial question. Thus, "When will 
you go," implies, "Do tell me," or "Are you really go- 
ing, and, if so, when?" 

j6. The rising or falling inflexion may frequently be 
used indifferently on a question of this kind which is not 
marked by emotional emphasis. 



IOO SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 

Example. 

" How do you do?" ) \ " How do you do?" 

s f or ] - 

" What is it o'clock?" \ ( " What is it o'clock?" 

The rising inflection is, however, more deferential than 
the falling, and is that which would generally be used in 
addressing a superior, while the falling tone is that which 
the superior would probably himself employ. 

"j"]. It is to be observed also, that when a question of 
this kind, uttered with a falling inflexion, has not been 
distinctly apprehended, or, from any cause, is echoed by 
the person to whom it was addressed, it receives, in this 
repetition, the rising inflexion. 

Example. — " Whence arise these forebodings, but from the con- 
sciousness of guilt?" 

" Whence arise these forebodings ?" ) .. , 7 . ,,t^j 

• [ {implying, ' ' Did you 

"From the consciousness of guilt?" i say?") 

This is generally the case also when we have not heard 
or understood with certainty the answer returned to our 
question, and consequently repeat the interrogative word. 

Example. — " When were you there last?" (Answer not distinctly 
apprehended). 

"When?" {implying, "Will you oblige me by repeating that?") 

But if the feeling of the questioner is not of the apolo- 
getic kind, he may throw incredulity or authority into the 
repeated question. Thus, 

"When?" (implying, "Do you really make so improbable a 

statement?") or 

"■When?" (implying, " Answer directly and without evasion.") 

78. In all these illustrations we may trace the working 
of the two simple fundamental principles of inflexion, — 
which, among many varieties of application, require no 
category of Exceptions. 

79. In the following sentence, the elliptical questions, 
"for whom?'''' and "for thee?" illustrate the two classes 
of interrogations, — the former being equivalent to "for 



SENTENTIAL INTONATION. TOI 

whom shall we break it?" and the latter to " shall we 
do so for thee?" 

"All this dread order break, — for whom? — for thee? 

Vile worm ! O madness ! Pride ! Impiety ! " 

80. Questions of two parts connected by the conjunc- 
tive or disjunctive particle '•'-or" importantly illustrate 
the two classes of interrogation. Thus : — "Are you go- 
ing to Liverpool or Manchester?" — This, according to 
the mode in which it is read, will be equivalent to "Are 
you going to either of these places?" or " To which of 
these places are you going?" To convey the former 
meaning " Liverpool " and "Manchester" will be pro- 
nounced with the same or -with only one accentual in- 
flexion, or with no accent; and to convey the latter sig- 
nification they will be pronounced with separate accents 
and opposite inflexions. Questions of this kind, when 
the verb is the subject of inquiry, may be resolved into, 
"Is it either?" and can be answered by yes or no ; and 
those in which the verb is not called in question may 
always be resolved into "which is it?" and cannot be 
answered by yes or no. 

Si. The mark of interrogation ( ?) is, in English punc- 
tuation, placed at the end of the grammatical period, but 
the interrogative sentence frequently terminates with a 
participial, or other subordinate sentence, or with a 
simile, and the interrogative inflexion should not be 
continued in such concluding member. Thus, in the two 
following passages, the questions virtually close at " es- 
teem " and " presence," and there the interrogative into- 
nation must end. 

" Would'st thou have that 
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, 
And live a coward in thine own esteem, — 
Letting ' I dare not ' wait upon ' I would,' 
Like the poor cat i' the adage ?" — Shakespeare. 

*' Didst thou not think, such vengeance must await 
The wretch that, with his crimes all fresh about him, 
Rushes irreverent, unprepared, uncalled, 
Into his Maker's presence — throwing back 
With insolent disdain His choicest srift ?" — Dr. Porteous 



102 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 



XVI. GOVERNING AND DEPENDENT WORDS. 

82. Governing and dependent words should be united ; 
but when a word is at the same time dependent on what 
precedes, and governing to what follows, it should be 
separated from the former, to show its closer relation 
to the latter. 

83. Also, when two or more words have a common 
relation to some other word, the former should be united 
among themselves, but separated from the word to which 
they are equally related. 

Examples. 

We have done those things. 

We have done — those things which we ought not to have done. 
We forgive them. 
We forgive — them that trespass. 
He hath scattered the proud. 

He hath scattered — the proud in the imagination of their heart6. 
. To judge the quick. 
To judge— the quick and the dead. 
To confess our sins. 

To confess — our manifold sins and wickedness. 
And am no more worthy. 

And am no more — worthy to be called thy son. 
Distressed in mind. 
Distressed — in mind, body, or estate. 



XVII. SERIES. 

84. When there are two or more words, clauses, or 
sentences, in apposition — subjects, predicates or circum- 
stances — they may be either compacted into a series — 
by rising inflexions, as in counting — or pronounced with 
independent inflexions, as if each stood alone in the sen- 
tence. The former mode of intonation exhibits most em- 
phatically the aggregate value of the serial members, and 
the latter gives them the greatest amount of individual 
emphasis. Sequences of words or clauses in apposition 
are only to be pronounced connectedly, when they seem 
to require aggregation to convey the full import of the 
passage. 



SENTENTIAL INTONATION. IO3 

XVIII. RESUME OF THE LEADING PRINCIPLES OF 
SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 

85 . The general principles to be attended to in reading 
are briefly and simply these : — 

Does the clause or sentence communicate the speaker's 
will or knowledge? if so, fall; if not, rise. 

Does the clause or sentence appeal to the hearer's will 
or knowledge? if so, rise; if not, fall. 

Is the clause or sentence dependent on some other to 
complete the sense ? if so, give it connective or referential 
tones ; if not, pronounce it irrespectively of what follows, 
and with tones rising or falling in accordance with its 
own expressiveness. 

Is the subordinate sentence a necessary complement of 
the principal? if so, give it corresponding modulative 
pitch, and connective or referential tones ; if not, read it 
in a different pitch, and with independent inflexions. 

Are the items of the Series severally or collectively im- 
portant to the sense ? if the former, pronounce them with 
disjunctive inflexion, and subsequent pause ; if the latter, 
aggregate them by connective inflexion and correspond- 
ence of modulation. 

86. Ordinary elocutionary Rules — especially those of 
the Series — render reading at sight impossible ; but, with 
such guiding Principles as the above, it is perfectly and 
effectively practicable. The voice has been shown to 
have a certain definite expressiveness in every movement, 
which may apply to any form of construction, according 
as the intent of the speaker requires the vocal effect. 
Rules for natural reading, then, cannot be founded on the 
grammatical forms of periods, or complete sentences, but 
on the inherent expressiveness of the vocal movements, 
and the independent or relative value of clauses. 



87. Exercise on Sentential Inflexions. 

The following Exercise, including sentences of every 
variety, affords a convincing illustration of the governing 
force of Tones, and the independence of inflexion on 
grammatical construction. Each of these diverse modes 



104 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 

of delivering the very same words is, under certain cir- 
cumstances, appropriate and natural. 

Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. 
Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. 

Were you there. Were you there. Were you there. 
Were you there. Were you there. Were you there. 
Were you there. Were vou there. Were you there. 
Were you there. 

Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it 

right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. 

Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it 
v 
possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. 

Is it possible. Is it possible. 

That is all. That is all. That is all. That is all. 
That is all. That is all. That is all. That is all. 

How do you do. How do you do. How do you do. 
How do you do. How do you do. How do you do. 
How do you do. How do you do. How do you do. 

Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. 
Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. 

No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. 
No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. 

Have patience. Have patience. Have patience. Have 
patience. Have patience. Have patience. Have 
patience. Have patience. 

The Christian's hope. The Christian's hope. The 



SENTENTIAL INTONATION. I05 

Christian's hope. The Christian's hope. The Christian's 

/ O 

hope. The Christian's hope is fixed. The Christian's 

V 
V • 

hope is fixed. The Christian's hope is fixed on heaven. 

The Christian's hope is fixed on heaven 

He reads correctly. He reads correctly. He reads 
correctly. He reads correctly. He reads correctly when 
he likes. He reads correctly when he likes. He reads 
correctly when he likes. He reads correctly when he 
likes to pay attention. He reads correctly when he likes 
to pay attention. He reads correctly when he likes to 
pay attention. 



THE 

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION, 



PART THIRD. 



MODULATION AND EXPRESSIVE DELIVERY. 



i. Modulation has reference to the Pitch or "Key" of 
the voice, and to the expressive variations of Force, Time, 
and Quality. 

PITCH. 

2. A change of Pitch is necessary to distinguish : 

I. Questions from answers. 

II. Assertions from proofs or illustrations. 

III. General statements from inferences, &c. 

IV. Quotations. 

V. A new division of a subject. 
VI. Changes of sentiment. 
VII. Explanatory and parenthetic matter. 

3. The degree in which the pitch is changed, and, 
often, even the direction of the change, will depend on 
the reader's taste, judgement, temperament, &c. As a 
general rule, low keys are associated with solemnity, awe, 
fear, humility, and sadness ; and high keys with levity, 
boldness, pride, and joy. Violent passions nearly al- 
ways take a high modulation. 

4. A harmony of modulation must be maintained be- 
tween syntactically related parts of a sentence — such as 
subject and predicate, verb and object, &c. — especially 
when they are separated by intervening clauses. 

5. For directive notation in the exercises that follow, 
five degrees of Pitch are distinguished: a middle or 
"conversational" key (No. 3) ; and two keys respec- 

107 



108 PITCH, FORCE AND TIME. 

tively higher (Nos. 4 and 5) ; and two lower (Nos. 2 
and 1). Thus — 

5 high 

4 , above 

3 - middle 

2 below 

1 low 

Besides these numbers for absolute pitch, the follow- 
ing signs for relative pitch are occasionally used : — 

f . . . . higher 
[ . . . . lower 

FORCE. 

6. Force is entirely different from Pitch. All varie- 
ties of Pitch may be accompanied by any degree of 
Force. Low keys may be vehement, and high keys may 
be feeble ; and vice versa. In notation, five degrees of 
Force are distinguished. Thus : — 

V Vehement 

E Energetic 

M Moderate 

W Weak 

F Feeble 

The following signs for relative force are also occasion- 
ally employed : — 

< . ... stronger 
> . . . . weaker 

TIME. 

7. A corresponding notation is employed for the Time 
or rate of utterance ; including a " common" or medium 
degree, and two degrees relatively quicker, and two 
slower. Thus : — 

R Rapid 

Q^ Quick 

C Common 

S Slow 

T Tardy 

The following additional signs for relative time may 
sometimes be found convenient : 

V . . . quicker 
y\ . . slower 



EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. IO9 

8. Simple narrative generally requires a medium Force 
and Time ; animated description an increase of energy 
and speed ; violent passions a greater increase ; and ten- 
der emotions a decrease. Pathos and solemnity require 
a slow movement. Subordinate clauses and sentences, 
parentheses, &C, are, generally, but not always, pro- 
nounced with less force and in quicker time than princi- 
pal members. 

9. A great deal of pleasing and expressive variety may 
be produced by slight variations of Pitch, Force, and 
Time. The musician's consummate delicacy of execution, 
in keeping the simple air running with a separate cur- 
rent in the midst of a river of variations, has its counter- 
part in the reader's vocal adaptation of sound to sense. 
The painter's artistic excellence in selecting objects to be 
" struck out " with varied effects, or " covered down " for 
contrast, is emulated by the skilful reader, in the due 
subordination or prominence of every thought and cir- 
cumstance, according to its relative importance. A Mas- 
ter of Ceremonies is not more punctilious in his arrange- 
ments than the voice of a tasteful and judicious reader. 

EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. *"/* 

10. Under this head are comprehended such Expres- 
sive Modulations as fundamentally affect the quality of 
the voice, or the mode of utterance, and enable the reader 
to " make the sound an echo to the sense." 

1 1 . The most finely toned voice, with all the charms 
of graceful and distinct articulation, will not suffice to 
make an effective reader, if there be not a constant cur- 
rent of sentiment streaming through the inflexions and 
articulate utterances. Speech, though chiefly mechani- 
cal, and therefore, — so far as articulation, force, time, 
and musical changes are concerned, — imitable by artificial 
contrivances, receives a higher and inimitable expressive- 
ness from the feeling of the speaker. There is a Vocal 
Logic ; a Rhetoric of Inflexion ; a Poetry of Modulation ; 
a Commentator's explanatoriness of Tone, — and these are 
combined in effective reading. Reading fails of half its 
proper effect, and of its highest purpose, if it does not fur- 
nish, besides a vocal transcript of the written language, 



no 



EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. 



a commentary upon its sentiment, and a judgement upon 
its reasoning. The language of Emotion must accompany 
every utterance that is naturally delivered. Yet how many 
merely mechanical speakers there are, whose voices know 
no thrill of feeling, and who throw off their tame mo- 
notonous oratory " coldly correct and regularly dull," 
nerveless, and passionless as automata. Let it be the ob- 
ject of the elocutionary student to awaken in himself a 
sympathetic sensibility with every utterance ; — to "learn 
to feel ;" — and to keep the fine-strung organs of expres- 
siveness in a state of delicate susceptibility. Let him 
make the language he reads his own, and always, in its 
delivery, " be in earnest." A simple system of notation, 
will be of great assistance in the formation of a habit of 
discriminating Expressiveness. 

12. The following elements of Expressive quality will 
be found sufficiently to indicate the functional manifes- 
tations of nearly all passions. Abbreviations for notation 
are shown within parentheses. 



ELEMENTS 
Qualities. 

Whisper (Wh.) . . 

Hoarseness (Ho.) . 
Orotund (Or.) 

Falsetto (Fa.) 

Monotone (Mo.) 
Plaintive (PI.) 

Tremor (Tr.) . 

Chuckle (Ch.) 

Staccato (St.) 

Smooth (Sm. ) . 

Rhythm (Rh.) 

Prolongation (Pr.)- 

Restraint (Res.) 



OF EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. 
Expressions. 

Secrecy, cunning, apprehension of evil, 
fearful suspense, &c. 

Horror, loathing, agonj, despair, &c. 

Pomp, sublimity, vastness ; also bom- 
bast, self-importance, &c. 

Puerility, senility; also acute anguish, 
or overpowering mirth, &c. 

Reflection, gloom, melancholy, awe, &c. 

Suffering, sympathy, desire, supplica-. 
tion, &c. 

Anxiety, alarm, eagerness, intense emo- 
tion. 

Boasting, triumph, delight, sneering, 
merriment, &c. 

Recrimination, reproach, &c. ; also dis- 
tributed emphasis. 

Admiration, tenderness, love, enjoyment, 
&c. 

Regular movement, alternation, sugges- 
tion of music. 
-Scorn, malignity ; also admiration, long- 
ing, &c. 

Effect of distance ; also subdued passion, 
choking, &c. 



EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. 



Ill 



Straining (Str.) . 

Panting (Pan.) . 

Inspiration (In.) . 

Expiration (Ex.) 

Percussion (Per.) 

Hem (Hm.). . . 
Imitation (Im.) . 

Sympathy (Sym.) 

Apathy (Ap.) . . 

Warmth (Wa.) . 

Sarcasm (Sar.) . 
Break (...) 

Stop (^tn) . . . 



Effect of difficult effort ; also violent an- 
ger, &c. 

Perturbation, flurry, exhaustion, mental 
suffering, &c. 

Mental or bodily agony, apprehension of 
suffering, &c. 

Sadness, sighing, sympathy in suffering, 

&c. 
Intensity of feeling, whether of joy or 
sorrow. 

Impatience, sneering, contempt, &c. 

Analogizing properties of sound or mo- 
tion, by degrees of Force, Time, &c. : 
also ridicule. 

Analogizing sentiments of gaiety, &c, by 
buoyant inflection ; and of solemnity 
by subdued tones, &c. 

Inaccordance of expression with senti- 
ment ; indifference, &c. 

Admiration, enjoyment, eagerness, an- 
ger, &c. 

Insincerity, double meaning, &c. 

Reflective, monitory, hesitant, sugges- 
tive. 

Meditation, listening, anxious watchful- 
ness, terror, &c. 



13. Explanatory Notes on the Preceding Expressive Qualities. 

Orotund: — A deep, full-throated, mellow voice. 

Falsetto : — A thin, shrill voice. 

Plaintive : — Inflexions limited to the semitone and minor 
third. 

Tremor • 1 ^^ e °l ua ^ty of tremor is common equally to 

I sentiments of sadness and joy. The inflec- 

Chuckt inc • 1 ^ ve ^ nterva ^ s are i n ^e minor mode for the 

J former, and in the major mode for the latter. 

Staccato : — Pointed accentuation on every word or every 
syllable. 

Smooth: — Soft, flowing, slightly accentuated sound. 

Rhythm : — Equal pulsation of accent and remission. 

Prolongation : — Either of vowel sound or of consonant effect. 

Restraint : — The volume of voice checked at the throat. 

Straining : — Restrained voice with strong consonant pressure. 

Percussion : — Either of voice from the throat or of consonant 
breath. 

Hem : — A kind of snorting utterance. 



112 



EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. 



14. 



Recapitulative Table of the Notations for Inflexion, 
Pitch, Force, Time, and Expression. 





Pitck. 




Force. 




Time. 


5 • 


. . High 


V 


Vehemence 


R . 


. Rapid 


4 • 


. . Above 


E 


Energy 


0. • 


Quick 


3 • 


. . Middle 


M 


Moderate 


C . 


. Common 




Below 


W 


Weak 


s . 


Slow 


1 


Low 


F 


Feeble 


T . 


. Tardy 


r • 


. Higher 


< . 


. Stronger 


V 


Quicker 


L • 


. Lower 


> 


. Weaker 


A 


. . Slower 


I • 


. . Clause 




. Break 


rv\ 


Pause 



Expression. 



Wh 


Whisper 


St . 


Staccato 


Ex . 


Expiration 


Ho 


Hoarseness 


Sm 


Smooth 


Per . 


Percussion 


Or 


Orotund 


Rh . 


Rhythm 


Hm . 


Hem 


Fa 


Falsetto 


Pr . 


Prolongation 


Im . 


Imitation 


Mo 


Monotone 


Res. 


Restraint 


Sym . 


Sympathy 


PI 


. Plaintive 


Str . 


Straining 


Ap . 


Apathy 


Tr 


Tremor 


Pan. 


Panting 


Wa . 


Warmth 


Ch 


Chuckle 


In 


Inspiration 


Sar . 


Sarcasm 



Simple 



Inflexion- 



Compound. 





' 


1 


' 


1 




Rise 


Fall 


Rise 


Fall 


Middle 


• .• 


v >v :\ 


vr -v 


•\ 


Pitch 


• .• :• 


v -\ 


vr /v 


•N ./% 



15. The following collection of short expressive pas- 
sages, carefully marked for exercise, will enable the stu- 
dent to acquire an agreeable flexibility and effective modu- 
lation of the voice, and to cultivate the habit of suiting 
the sound to the sense in reading. 

16. The marking is to be considered merely as an 
exercise. The same passages might be read, — and 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. I 1 3 

perhaps with equal effect — in a variety of ways. The 
notation simply illustrates one mode, which is at least 
effective and fully expressive of the sense and sentiment. 
17. The preparatory pitch of syllables before the ac- 
cent is not indicated in the printing. It is always, how- 
ever, implied. Thus the introductory couplet in the first 
extract is to be read : — 

V -V • • 

Not always actions show the man ; we find 
Who does a kindness is not therefore kind. 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 
ACTIONS. — Pope. 

Not always actions show the man ; we find 

Who does a kindness is not therefore kind : 
5Ap , ' # ^ 

Perhaps prosperity becalmed his breast; 

V 

Perhaps the wind just shifted from the east : 

Not therefore humble he who seeks retreat ; 

Pride guides his steps, and bids him shun the great : 
4 /> .v 

Who combats bravely is not therefore brave. 

He dreads a death-bed like the meanest slave : 
1 . N 5 

Who reasons wisely is not therefore wise. 

His pride, in reasoning, not in acting lies. 

••\ v 

AMBITION. Yotcng. 

3 • v 

Ambition, in the truly noble mind, 

<\ 
With sister . . . Virtue, is for ever joined. 

v V : v 

In meaner minds, Ambition works alone, 
2 St . v 

But [with sly art, | puts Virtue's aspect on. 

No mask, in basest mind, Ambition wears, 

But, [in full light, | pricks up her ass's ears. 



114 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

AMBITION DISSATISFIED. — Toung. 
3 

Consult the ambitious, — 'tis ambition's cure : 

"And is this all?" cried Caesar, fin his height, 
2E :' 

Disgusted. 
• •\ 

AMBITION REPENTED. — Brooke. 

Oh ! that some villager, [whose early toil 

Lifts the penurious morsel to his mouth I 

Had claimed my birth ! ambition had not then 
3 , 

Thus stept 'twixt me and heaven. 

V V 

AMBITIOUS RIVALRY. — CoiVper. 
3 

On the summit j see 
he seals of office glitter in his eyes ; 

-v v 2 

He climbs, he pants, he grasps them. At his heels, 

v v 

Close at his heels, a demagogue ascends, 

And ] with a dext'rous jerk | soon twists him down, 
4CA ^ Ex v v, * 

And wins them, . . . but to lose them in his turn. 

V 

ANCESTRY. — Alex. Bell. 
3 

If we must look to ancestry for fame, 

'v • 

Let us at least deal justly with mankind. 

Why should we rake the ashes of the dead 

For honours only? why conceal their crimes? 
3 ^ ^ ' 

We snatch our fathers' glories from the dust, 

And wear them [as our own : | Why should we seek 

.V 

To cover with oblivion ! their shames? 
2# v # ' _St v . 

The frailties of our sires | set full in view | 
IP A v^ 

Might teach their children modesty. 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II5 

ANGER. — Baillie. 

AY : v -v 3 v, 

Out upon thee, fool ! Go, speak thy . • . comforts 

Q v 

To spirits tame and abject as thyself: 
4 v, 2 Ho 

They make me . . . mad. 
•si 

AVARICE. — Pope. 

Wealth in the gross is death, but life diffused; 

[As poison heals, in just proportion used : 

In heaps, [like ambergris, | a stink it lies, 
4 v, : v 

But, well dispersed, is incense to the skies. 

beauty. — Baillie. 
To make the cunning artless, tame the rude, 

/ v 

Subdue the haughty, shake the undaunted soul ; 
4 

Yea, put a bridle in the lion's mouth, 
St •' .^ 

[And lead him forth as a domestic cur, — 
Wa .v 

These are the triumphs of all powerful beauty. 

blindness. — Milton . 

Oh! dark, dark, dark, [amid the blaze of noon, I 
PI v v . N 

Irrevocably dark — total eclipse — 

\" 
Without all hope of day! J 
4 & 

Oh, first created beam, and thou, great Word. 
Or 

" Let there be light," [and light was | over all : | 
^ -PJ . \ • • v 

Why am I | thus bereav'd thy prime decree ? 

CHARITY. — Rotve. 

3 

Think not, the good, 

V 

The gentle deeds of mercv thou hast done, 

v . • 2 '* v 

Shall die forgotten all : the poor, the prisoner, 

v v 

The fatherless, the friendless, and the widow, 



l6 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 



|_Who daily own the bounty of thy hand, | 

. v Per 

Shall cry to Heaven, and pull a blessing on thee. 



CHILDHOOD. 

3 , 

The world of a child's imagination is the creation of a far 

V V 

holier spell I than hath been ever wrought [by the pride of learn- 

v v 4 v ./% 

ing, or the inspiration of poetic fancy. Innocence that thinketh 

V • V 

no evil ; ignorance that apprehendeth none ; hope that hath 

E .v 
experienced no blight : love that suspecteth no guile ; these are 

v v v, v Wa 

its ministering angels ! these wield a wand of power, making this 

earth a paradise 1/rvTime, [hard, rigid teacher ! | Reality, [rough, 

•\ v Ex ~ . v 

stern reality! | World, [cold, heartless world! that ever your 
> v > Tr . N 

sad experience, your sombre truths, your killing cold, your 
Q Per * 3 v ^ ^ 

withering success, could scare those gentle spirits from their 

2 
holy temple ! And wherewith do ye replace them ? With caution, 

3 v - v 

[that repulses confidence, | with doubt, [that repelleth love ; j 
* .v v / E . v 

with reason that dispelleth delusion ; with fear, [that poisoneth 

' s 
enjoyment; in a word, with knowledge, — that fatal fruit, the 

, V - V Ply 

tasting whereof, [at the first onset, I cost us paradise. 

/ -V 

COMMENTATORS. — Toung. 
• v/ .v 

Commentators each dark passage shun, 

And hold their . . . farthing candle to the sun. 

contempt. — Byron. 
* .v 2Q 

Patience ! Hence, — that word was made 

For brutes of burthen, not for birds of prey; — 
IE v ^ 

Preach it to mortals of a dust like thine, 

I . . . am not of thine order. 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 
corruption. — Coivj>er. 

i 

Examine well 
.v 3S v v 

His . . . milk-white hand 'Tvthe palm is hardly clean, 

V 

V 

->But | here and there, an ugly smutch appears. 
lPdr IE .. v 2 St v 

Foh ! 'twas a bribe that left it. He has touched 

Corruption. 

courage. — Brown. 

The intent [and not the deed j 

3 ' ^ 

Is in our power ; and therefore, who dares greatly, 

Does greatly. 

conflicting passions. — Shakespeare. 

4 

I pr'ythee, daughter, do not make me mad ! 
3 STr y , v 



W1J 



St X 

We'll no more meet, no more see one another ! 
2 Per < ^ > 

But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter, 
i E .. v • • ' 

Or, rather, a disease that's in my flesh — 

.v v Ho .. v 

Which I must needs call mine ! thou art /c\ a boil — 

■V 

A plague-sore — an embossed carbuncle, 
3FS v 

In my corrupted blood . . . But <s\ I'll not /cs chide thee 

vr / 

Let shame come when it will, I do not call it, 
Or 

I do not bid the thunder-bearer strike, 
Tr v « , 

Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove : . . . 
4P , v 

Mend, when thou canst; be better — at thy leisure I 

DEFIANCE. Toung. 

Torture thou mayst, but . . . thou shalt ne'er despise me. 



2 



The blood will follow where the knife is driven, 
The flesh will quiver where the pincers tear; 

• • .V 

And sighs and cries [by nature j grow on pain : 



Il8 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

But these are foreign to the soul : not mine 

• '/ 

The groans that issue, or the tears that fall ; 

They disobey me ! /v\ ["On the rack | I . . . scorn thee. 

desert. — Shakespeare. 
Use every man according to his desert, and who shall escape 
whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity : the 

.V • .V ' 

less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty. 

despair. — Maturin. 

3 PI / , 

The fountain of my heart dried up within me, — 

V / / 

With nought that lov'd me, and with nought to love,, 

v Mon 

I stood upon the desert earth . . . alone ; 
2 S. Tr 

And [in that deep and utter agony, | 

[Though then, [than ever | most unfit to die, I 
Q v ^ s .v 

I fell upon my knees, and prayed for death. 

discrimination. — Shakespeare. 

Ye are men ? 
Pr „ f 

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men ; 
2Q >v v v v v v 

As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs„ 

Shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves, are cleped 

All by the name of dogs : | the valued file 

.v 3£ 

Distinguishes . . . the swift, the slow, the subtle, 
v 4v v v 

The house-keeper, the hunter, every one 

/ v . . v 

According to the gift which bounteous Nature 

•\ 

Hath in him closed ; wherebv he doth receive 

v 
Particular addition, from the bill 

That writes them all alike. 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II9 

DISTINCTIONS. 
v / 

Kaman society requires distinctions of property, diversity of 
conditions, subordinations of rank, and a multiplicity of occu- 
pations, I in order to advance the general good. 

distraction. — Shakespeare. 

* PI . v / 

You see me here, ye gods, a poor old man, 

. v Per 

As full of grief as age, wretched in both ! 
5 Tr Pr ^ 

You think I'll weep ; no, I'll not weep : — 
2E Per /\ 4 / 

I have full cause of weeping; but this heart • 

V 
Shall /T\ burst into a hundred thousand flaws, 

. v .. y Fa 2 St 

Or ere I'll weep — O Gods, I shall go mad ! 

dominion. — Milton . 

Here we may reign secure; and, [in my choice, | 

" v . 
To reign is worth ambition [though in hell : 
4 v Hm s^y, \ 

Better to reign in hell than . . . serve in heaven. 

EMOTIONS. 

• .v • 

The emotions pervade every operation of the mind, as the 

life-blood circulates through the body; within us and without. 

/ / / 

in the corporeal world and in the spiritual, in the past, the present, 

• .V 

and the future, there is no object of thought which they do not 
touch ; there are few, very few, which they do not colour and 
transmute. 

•V 

energetic effort. — Shakespeare. 

3 _ Sir 

I saw him . . . beat the surges under him, 

. " v " v 

And ride upon their backs ; he trod the water, 

[Whose enmity he flung aside, [and breasted 



120 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

Eh 
The surge most swollen that met him : his bold head 

Pr 
'Bove the contentious waves he kept, and oared 

• *\ 

Himself with his good arms, in lusty strokes, 

V s\ 

To the shore, [that [o'er his wave-borne basis j bowed 
As stooping to relieve him. 

envy. — Byron. 

3J»f v . , 

He who ascends to mountain-tops shall find 

The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow : 
2S .^ 

He who sui-passes or subdues mankind, 

•\ 
[Must look down on the hate of those below. 

3 , 
Though [high above, | the sun of glory glow, 

•v / 

And [far beneath | the earth and ocean spread, 

Round him are icy rocks, | and loudly blow 

• v * v Sym 

Contending tempests | on his naked head ; 

4 E vr • v 

And thus . . . reward . . . the toils which to those summits led. 
.^ v 

evil conscience. — Dryden. 

3E -v / Str 

Here, here it lies : a lump . . . of /T\ lead, | by day? | 

v PI -v / v 

And j in my short, distracted nightly slumbers | 
Ho Ex 

The hag . . . that rides my dreams. 

exasperation. — Baillie. 

3 Tr v -v 

Oh ! the side glance of that detested eve ! 

~ v V V 

That conscious smile ! that full insulting lip ! 
existence. —Sew ell. 



It touches everv nerve : it makes me . . . mad ! 



To be, is better far than not to be, 



^ ^ 



[Else nature cheated us in our formation. 
4k , Sm 

And when we are, the sweet delusion wears 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 121 

v •. 

Such various charms and prospects of delight, 

v 

That what we could not will, we make our choice. 

V 

•v 

[Desirous to prolong the life she gave. 

EX-OFFICIO ENDOWMENTS. — Toung. 
v \r v/ 'v 

All soldiers, valour, [all divines have grace, 

• v St 
[As maids of honour, beauty, [by their place. 

EXPERIENCE. — Toung. 

3 -v / 

'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours ; 
IS 

And ask them . . . what report thej brought to heaven ; 
2 PI v, ^ Tr * / 

And how thev might have borne . . . more welcome news. 
3J»f / -v •' 

Their answers form what men Experience call ; 

If Wisdom's friend, her best, if not, worst foe. 

FAITH. 
v 

Though faith be above reason, yet is there a reason to be 

v ^ '"> 

given of our faith. He is a fool who believes he neither knows 

what nor why. 

fame. — Toung. 

With fame [in just proportion | envy grows ; 

' • y *\ 

The man that makes a character makes foes. 

fidelity — Maturin. 

Yea, time hath power upon my hopeless love; 
8 ./> ' •> •' 

And what a power, I'll tell thee : 
IS Rh - v 

A power to change the pulses of the heart 
Per . v 

To one /^ dull /T\ throb, of ceaseless agony — 
3 Pr 

To hush the sigh on the resigned lip 

And lock it in the heart, — freeze the hot tear, 
PI -^ Per 

And bid it on the eyelid hang . . . forever : 

Such power hath time o'er me. 



122 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

fortitude. — Byron. 

The tortm-e ! you have put me there, already, 

^ "' 3 

Daily [since I was Doge ! | but [if you will 

/ 4Q - v 3 ^ ^ 

Add the corporeal rack | you may : these limbs 

• / / IE 

Will yield [with age | to crushing iron, but 

^ *Str #/x 

There's that within my heart shall strain your engines. 

fortune. — Tennyson. 

* • v v / / 

Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel and lower the proud; 
3 v v ^ v 

Turn thy wild wheel [thro' sunshine, storm, and cloud; 

Thy Avheel and thee | we | neither love nor hate. 

Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel with smile or frown ; 
StE ' ' / v 

With that wild wheel we go not up or down ; 

Our hoard is little, but our hearts are great. 

GREATNESS. — Toting. 
V • ./\ *v 

High stations, tumult, [but not bliss I create : 
None think the great unhappy but the great. 
hearts. — Byron. 

Heads bow, knees bend, eyes watch, [around a throne, — 

' , ±E ' \v, 3Hm n 

And hands obey | our hearts . . . are still our own. 
.•x /\ 

HUMAN LIFE. — Coivfier. 
•v / 

In such a world, [so thorny, and where none 

/ 
Finds happiness unblighted, [or [if found, 

[Without some thistly sorrow at its side, || 

It seems the part of wisdom, and no sin 

St ' 

Against the law of love, to measure lots 

~ 2 

With less distinguished than ourselves, that thus 

We may, with patience, bear our moderate ills, 

■\ V 

And sympathize with others, suffering more. 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 23, 

HUMAN WRETCHEDNESS. — Southey. 

3 As her bier 
•v 4 
Went to the grave, a lark sprang up aloft, 

Pr 3 

And soar'd amid the sunshine, caroling 

•v / • Ex 

So full of joy, that [to the mourner's ear 

•N / 

More mournfully than dirge or passing bell 

2S v ' / 

His joyful carol came /r\ and made us leel 

•v v -V 

That [of the multitude of beings, | none . . . 
Ex / Per 

But man . . . was wretched ! 

.' 'N 

if. — Shakespeare. 
■ 4 

I knew when seven justices could not take up a quarrel ; but 

when the parties were met themselves, one of them thought but 

•v 3 v ^ 2Pr 

of an If, as " If you said so, then I said so" " Oh, /t\ did you 

1 Ch . v ^ ' ^ ^ 

so?" — and they shook hands and were sworn brothers. 

V 

imitation. — Blair. 

3 v . . •> 

Nothing is more natural than to imitate, [bv the sound of the 

voice, I the quality of the sound [or noise | which any external 

object makes, and to form its name accordingly. A certain bird 

is termed the Cuckoo, from the sound which it emits. When 

hn v Im 

one sort of wind is said to . . . whistle, and another to . . . roar ; 

Pr Pr 

when a serpent is said to hiss, a fly to buzz, and falling timber 

Per Sm E 

to . . . crash; when a stream is said to flow, and hail to rat- 

tle; the analogy between the word and the thing signified is- 

plainly discernible. 

ingratitude. — Shakespeare. 

S Pr - V . V y 

Blow, blow, thou wintry wind, 

Pl 
Thou art not so unkind 

v •' 

As man's ingratitude ; 

Thy tooth is not so keen, 



124 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

[Because thou art not seen | 

Although thy breath be rude. 
Tr. Pr. -v ^ . v v 

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, 

Thou dost not bite so nigh 

As benefits forgot : 

Though thou the waters warp 

.V 

Thy sting is not so sharp 

As — Friend remembered not. 



insect life. — American Paper. 

3 -v / 4 v 

Insects generally must lead a truly jovial life. Think what 

it must be [to lodge in a lily. Imagine— a palace /C\ of ivory and 

/ ' v St 

pearl /T\ with pillars of silver and capitals of gold, and exhaling 

such a perfume as never arose from human censer. Fancv again, 

V V V 

V • • / 

the fun | of tucking one's-self up for the night in the folds of a 

v IRh 5 v 

rose, rocked to sleep by the gentle sighs of summer air, nothing 

• 3 

to do when you wake but to wash yourself in a dew drop, and 
Ch ,, •< 

fall to eat your bedclothes. 



INTERROGATION. 

4 3 

" I have something more to ask you," said a young eagle | to a 
• V 4S , v 

learned, melancholy owl : " Men say | there is a bird, [by name 

Merops, | who, when he rises in the air, flies with his tail up- 

v, -v 5CA V ~ 

wards and his head towards the ground. Is that true ?" 
2 Or 4 v :' 

" Certainly not," answered the owl, " it is only a foolish tra- 
z /N .v v 3 v 2S. 

dition of man ; he is himself a Merops : for he would fly to 

heaven, without | for a moment | losing sight of the earth." 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 12^ 

kingly power. — Shakespeare. 

3 i/s Per 

Oh, not a minute, king, thy power can give : 

4 v, v • v / 

Shorten my days thou can'st [with sullen sorrow | 

, 2 St 

And pluck nights from me, but not lend a morrow : 

Thou can'st help Time to furrow me [with age, | 

3 v v 

But stop no wrinkle in his pilgrimage ; 

'? . 

Thy word is current with him, for my death ; 

.• 5 E /\ 

But, fdead, | thy kingdom cannot buy my breath. 

laziness. — Hall. 

Laziness grows on people ; it begins in cobwebs, and ends /r\ in 

; / • 

iron chains. The more business a man has, the more he is able 

•v v . ' ^ 

to accomplish; for^r\ he learns to economize his time. 

life. — Madden. 
I have tried this world fin all its changes. 

States, and conditions : | have been great, and happy, 
/ * v lEx •' 

Wretched and low, and passed through all its stages, 
US •* ■* v, 

And, oh! believe me, [who have known it best, | 
4 

It is not worth the bustle that it costs ; 

3 .v / v 

'Tis but a medley — all — of idle hopes 

And abject childish fears. 

• «v 

LIGHTS AND SHADES. 
• v .• 

The gloomiest day hath gleams of light ; 

• v • 

The darkest wave hath white foam near it; 

And — twinkles through the cloudiest night 

Some solitary star to cheer it. 
IE 3 v 

The gloomiest soul is not all gloom; 
4Jf . v ^ 

The saddest heart is not all sadness ; 
3 Sm ■■' 

And sweetly o'er the darkest doom 

There shines some lingering beam of gladness- 



126 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

lovers' studies. 

V • • / 

To a lover, the figures, the motions, the words of the beloved 

object, are not, [like other images, | written on water, but, [as 

/ /\ • 

Plutarch said | " enameled in fire " and made the study of mid- 
night. 

lovers. — Sir R. Aytoun. 

Some men seem so distracted of their wits, 

That I would think it but a venial sin, 

To take | one of these innocents, that sit 
v/ .v Ch 

In Bedlam, | out, and put some lover in. 

••\ 

ludicrous distress.— Henry Mackenzie. 

I had — a piece — of rich — sweet pudding — on my fork, when Miss 
v ' Tr v * 

Louisa Friendly begged to /T\ trouble me for part of a pigeon 

■ ' Q .v v 

that stood near me. In my haste [scarce knowing what I did, I 

R v v ^ In 

I . . . whipped the pudding into my mouth, rrs hot, as a burning 

i 
coal! It was impossible to conceal my agony; my eyes were 

3 S Pan . v v 

starting from their sockets ! At last, [in spite | of shame and 

"V 

resolution, | I was obliged to s?\ drop /T\ the cause of my torment 
on my plate. 

man. — Shakespeare. 

.v e .V / 

What a piece of work is man ! how noble in reason ! how 

V V 

infinite in faculties ! in form and moving how express and ad- 
mirable ! in action how like an angel ! in apprehension how like 

a god ! 

martyrs. — Hemans. 

3 v 
Oh ! be the memory cherished 

Of those [the thousands i that around Truth's throne 

v s* ^ ESt 

Have poured their lives out, [smiling, /T\ [in that doom 

Finding a triumph, if denied a tomb ! — 



EXERCISES IX EXPRESSIVE READIXG. 



Ay, with their ashes hath the wind been sown, 
"A , E » x v 

And [with the wind j their spirit shall be spread, 
Wa v .v 

Filling man's heart with records of the dead. 

METHOD. 

The man who does not know how to methodize his thoughts 
has always [to borrow a phrase from the dispensary, | a barren 
superfluity of words. 

murder. — Dr. Porteoics. 

3 '^y - v 

One murder made a villain : 

Millions a hero. Princes were privileged 

•v ,, Ex 

To kill, and numbers t\ sanctified the crime. 
v -r\ v 

mur de r. — Ba illie . 

3 « 

Twice it call'd, — so loudly call'd, 

With horrid strength, [beyond the pitch of nature ; I 

And murder ! murder ! was the dreadful cry | 

3 .v F 

A third time /r\ it returned, I with feeble strength, 

But . . . o' the sudden . . . ceased, ^as though the words 

In • v Str 

Were . . . smother'd . . . rudely ... in the graopled throatOv 
4 
And T\ ally's was still again, save the wild blast 

•V 

Which at distance growl'd — 
2 Pr - v 

Oh! it will never from mv mind depart! 

4 Tr 1 

That dreadful cry ... all i' the instant stilled. 



parish .common. — Eliza Cook. 

3 4 , 

It glads the eve it warms the soul 

To gaze upon the rugged knoll, 

Where tangled brushwood twines across 

The struggling brake and sedgy moss. 



128 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

4 

Oh ! who would have the grain spring up 

Where now we find the daisy's cup? — 

Where clumps of dark red heather gleam 

With beauty in the summer beam, — 

. v Sym 

And yellow furze-bloom . . . laughs to scorn 

• s\ 

Your ripen'd hopes and bursting corn ? . . . 

2 • v E v 
God speed the plough ! But let us trace 

* .V 

Something of nature's infant face ; 

3 v ., St « 

Let us behold some spot [where man 

Has not yet set his " bar and ban," I 

Leave us some green wastes, [fresh and wild, I 
Tr * , 

For poor man's beast, and poor man's child. 

V V 

PARTING. 
3 v / .v \r 

The true sadness of parting is not in the pain of separating ; 
it is the when and the how you are to meet again j with the face 

.v V • 

about to vanish from your view. From the passionate farewell, 

* . v 
to the friendly good-bye, a chord, stronger or weaker, is snapped 

, 3 v ^ 4 

asunder in every parting. Meet again you may ; but will it be 

in the same circumstances? with the same sympathies? with the 

v 2S . 

same sentiments? Will the souls now hurrying on in diverse 

• v . . . / 

paths unite once more, as if the interval had been a dream? 

Rarely, oh, rarely. 

PRAYER. — N. P. Willis. 
3-ST , 

Oh ! when the heart is full — when bitter thoughts 

Come crowding thickly up for utterance, — 

Per ^ 

And the poor common words of courtesy 
1 3 is* 

Are such a very mockery — how much 

.V / 

The bursting heart may pour itself in prayer. 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 29 

\ 

PROSPERITY. 

There is ever a certain languor attending the fulness of pros- 
3 ' v .v • I'm 

perity. When the heart has no more to wish, it . . . yawns over 

-v V • 

its possessions, and the energy of the soul goes out, [like aflame 

that has no more to devour. 

reasoning. — Dr. Toung. 

Bid physicians talk our veins to temper, 

v • v 

And I with an argument | new-set a pulse : — 

Then think, [my lord, | of reasoning into love. 

•\ V «v 

REFLECTION. 

He that would pass the latter part of his life with honour and 
decency, must, when he is young, consider that he shall one day 
be old, and remember when he is old, that he has once been 
young. 



Scorn not the slightest word or deed, 
2Q ' v 

Nor deem it void of power; 

There's fruit in each wind-wafted seed, 

r\ 

[Waiting its natal hour : | 

No act falls fruitless : none can tell 

How vast its power may be ; 
Nor what results infolded, dwell 

V 

Within it | silently. 

RIDICULOUS DEFERENCE. — CoiU^er. 
•\ / 

He would not, [with a peremptory tone, | 

Assert the nose upon his face, his own : 
5 St v v 

With . . . hesitation /^admirably . . . slow, 

He . . . humbly . . . hopes, /t\ presumes ... it . . . may be so. 



130 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

signs of love. — Dryden. 

I find she loves him much, [because she hides it. | 
4 • vy v ~ 

Love teaches cunning even to innocence ; 

And, where he gets possession, his first work 

Is to dig deep within the heart, and there 
IS v a 

Lie hid I like a miser in the dark, 
3 Wa / * * 

To feast alone. 

slavery. — Brougham. 

* •% V V V 

Tell me not of rights — talk not of the property of the planter 
/ 5V : v 
in his slaves : — I deny the right, I acknowledge not the property. 

The principles, the feelings of our common nature rise in rebel- 

lion against it. 

spasmodic emotion. — Baillie. 
3 , Res / 

I felt/CN a sudden tightness, rrs grasp my throat . . . 

2 
As it would strangle me, . . . such as I felt, 

K Ex , 

[I knew it well | some twenty years ago, 

Tr , ,' 

When . . . my good father . . . shed his blessing on me : . . . 
3M .v v, •* 

I hate to weep, and so I came away. 

•V 

stairs to marriage. — Shakespeare. 
3m / . v 5F y. 

Your brother and my sister no sooner met but they . . . looked : 
EQ / S ' u 3 / Im 

no sooner looked but they loved ; no sooner loved but they . . . 

Sym ■* > 

sighed ; no sooner sighed but thev asked one another the reason ; 
E .., Ch M'^ 

no sooner knew the reason, but they. . . sought the remedy; and 

in these degrees they have made a pair of stairs to marriage. 

sympathy. — 6". T. Coleridge. 

3 vy 

He that works me good | with unmoved face, 

Does it but half: he chills me while he aids, — 
3 .-A -v v 

My benefactor, I not my brother man. 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 131 

sympathy. — Shakespeare. 

3 , 2 

Thy heart is big : get thee apart and weep. 
3St/m * v / v v 

Passion, II see | is catching; for mine eyes, 
./ /\ 

[Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine | 
Tr 
Begin . . . to . . . water. 



tears. — Byron. 

4 -v 
Hide thy tears — 
3 v, 4 v 

I do not bid thee | not to shed them ; 'twere 

Easier to stop Euphrates at its source, 
3 - v .-* * 

Than one tear | of a true and tender heart ; — 
1 ., Tr 

But ... let me not behold them, /t\ they . . . unman me. 



■V 



tears. — W. E. Aytoun. 

3 -v 

Woman's weakness shall not shame me — 

2 .v ~ 

Why should I have tears to shed ? 

4 .. N •'• Per 
Could I rain them down like water, | 

/ • 

O, my hero, on thv head — 

3 s* 

Could the cry of lamentation 
/\ 
Wake thee from thy silent sleep, — 

5 -v ., 

Could it set thy heart a-throbbing /r\ 
2 .^ " Pr 

It were mine to wail and weep. 



time. — Carlos Wilcox. 

Time well employed is Satan's deadliest foe : 

It leaves no opening for the lurking fiend : 

Life it imparts to watchfulness and prayer, — 

•\ ./\ v 

Statues, without it, fin the form of guards. 



132 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 

TRUE COURAGE. — Baillie. 

3 «v *v • 

The brave man | is not he who feels no fear. 

[For that were stupid and irrational ; I 
But he, whose noble soul its fear subdues, 

V V 

And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from r 
2 Hm #v v 

As for your youth, whom blood and blows delight, 
±E » v 2 . . v 

Away with them ! there is not in their crew 

One valiant spirit. 



TEACHERS. 



4 



Nothing stifles knowledge more than covering every thing 
* 2 

with a doctor's robe ; and the men who would be for ever 

•V 

teaching, are great hindrances to learning. 



THE FALLING LEAF. — HematlS. 



As the light leaf, [whose fall, to ruin bears 

v \ 

Some trembling insect's little world of cares, j 

.v <-.--- 

Descends in silence, [while around waves on 

E .. v 
The mighty forest . . . reckless what is gone ! — 
ISt 3 , v 

I Such is man's doom | and, [ere an hour be flown, | 
l vr O 3 . v , 

/tn Reflect, thou trifler srs such may be thine own ! 



WISDOM OF THE DEITY. — Dr. Dick. 

The astonishing multiplicity of created beings, the wonderful 

/ V *v 

laws of nature, the beautiful arrangement of the heavenly 

• v -v 

bodies, the elegance of the vegetable world, the operations of 
animal life, and the amazing harmony of the whole creation,, 
loudly proclaim I the wisdom I of the Deity. 



EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 33 

wit. — Covjper. 

Is sparkling wit the world's exclusive right — 

[The fix'd fee-simple of the vain and light? 

Can hopes of heaven, [bright prospects of an hour, 

[That come to waft us out of sorrow's power, I 

Obscure, or quench ... a facultv, that finds 

•s . 
Its happiest soil in the serenest minds ?/r\ 

Religion curbs indeed its wanton way, 

And brings the trifles under rigorous sway; 

But gives it usefulness [unknown before, | 

And [purifying | makes it shine the more. 

3 " 

A Christian's wit is inoffensive light, 
A beam that aids, but never grieves the sight; 
Vigorous I in age, as in the flush of youth, 
'Tis always, I active on the side of truth: 

v . 

Temperance and peace insure its healthful state, 
St v 

And make it brightest at its latest date. 

woman. — Barrett. 

3 v / . . 

Ask the poor pilgrim, [on this convex cast, — 

[His grizzled locks distorted in the blast, [ — 

4 .v 

Ask him . . . what accent soothes, what hand bestows 

V 
V 

The cordial beverage, garment and repose ? 

2 Wa v v 
O, he will dart a spark of ancient flame, 

3 IE 

And clasp his tremulous hands, . . . and . . . woman name ! f?\ 

Peruse the sacred volume : Him who died 

Her kiss betrayed not, nor her tongue denied. 

4 , , . v pi - 

While even the apostle left Him to His doom, 

V V • • 

She lingered round His cross, and watched His tomb. 



THE 

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION, 




PART FOURTH. 



EMPHASIS 



I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

i . As every word of more than one syllable has an ac- 
cented syllable, and every grammatical group of words 
has an accented word, so every sentence or association of 
grammatical groups has an accented or emphatic idea. 
Emphasis is to verbal and clausular accents what the 
accents themselves are to unaccented syllables. 

2. Accent gives prominence to the leading syllables in 
words, or words in clauses ; emphasis gives prominence 
to the leading Idea, although it may be expressed by the 
most subordinate word in the sentence. 

3. The leading idea in a sentence is almost invariably 
the new idea, and on the word expressive of this, what- 
ever its grammatical value, the accent or emphasis falls. 

4. The primary words in sentences are the noun (the 
subject) and the verb (the predicate) ; and were clauses 
containing nouns and verbs with their adjuncts, separated 
from their sentential context, and pronounced as in a 
vocabulary, the clausular accents would fall on these parts 
of speech. Thus, 

A funeral note, I Eagerly wished. 

A farewell shot, | Distinctly remembered. 

The struggling moonbeam, I Greatly marvelled. 

No useless coffin, | No longer hesitating. 

If the noun or verb preceded the qualifying word, the 
accent would probably be required by the latter, as it 
would then be directly suggestive of antithesis. Thus, 



I36 EMPHASIS. 

The moonbeam struggling, I Wished eagerly. 

No coffin useless, | Remembered distinctly. 

5 . Nouns and verbs are the essential elements of sen- 
tences. A sentence may be complete with these alone, 
while no other parts of speech could make a sentence. 

6. Next in grammatical value to nouns and verbs, are 
those words which qualify nouns and verbs, called 
adjectives and adverbs ; and next to these latter are those 
words which qualify adjectives and adverbs, called also 
adverbs, although they are adjuncts of an inferior class to 
adverbs proper. 

7. Of the other parts of speech the article is of the 
same nature as the Adjective ; the Pronoun of the same 
nature as the Noun ; the Preposition of the same nature 
as the Adverb ; and the Interjection and Conjunction of 
the same nature as the Verb. 

8. "We never speak but we say something" is an 
adage that is not merely sarcastic in its application. 
Every sentence says (or asserts) something, or asks 
something, or enjoins something ; but in connection with 
that something, much more is frequently added of an ex- 
planatory or complemental nature. In conversation we 
feel what we wish to say, and we instinctively give prom- 
inence to the leading thought and subordinate the 
accessory parts of our sentences. On the printed page 
we have the whole of a sentence before the eye at once, 
principal and accessory parts alike ; and in accordance 
with our view of the sense, we can, by varying the em- 
phatic relation of the accents, make the sentence express 
any one of half a dozen different thoughts as the prin- 
cipal idea. As in extemporary delivery our perfect 
knowledge of our own intention dictates the emphasis 
that best expresses our meaning ; so, in reading, a clear 
perception of the author's ai?n^ and recollection of what 
has been said, suggests the emphasis that is expressive 
of the intended meaning. 

9. In extemporary delivery we do not pronounce whole 
sentences at a time, but clauses only ; and each clause, as 
it is pronounced, receives such a modification of stress, 
inflexion, and modulation, as marks its relation to the 
dominant idea. We must apply the same principle to 



EMPHASIS. 137 

reading. Each clause contains a distinct idea, which 
might take the form of a separate grammatical sentence, 
and which is not so expressed only because its idea is 
subordinate to the principal thought with which it is as- 
sociated in the grammatical period. Clauses, then, should 
be considered as distinct assertions, appeals or injunc- 
tions ; and each should be pronounced with tones 
accordant with its own nature, merely modified 
as to pitch, force, time, and stress, in reference to the 
leading idea in the sentence. 

10. Antithesis or contrast is involved in emphasis. 
We have seen that words, having a common accented 
syllable, as expulsive and repulsive, have the accent 
shifted to the syllable of difference when the words are 
used in contrast. So in sentences : the most important 
grammatical words will be pronounced without emphasis 
if the same words, or any words involving the same idea, 
have occurred in the context ; and the leading emphasis 
will be given, perhaps, to some words of the most subor- 
dinate grammatical class which, but for the previous im- 
plication of the more important words, would have been 
pronounced entirely without accent. 

1 1 . The strongest emphasis is given to words that are 
suggestive of unexpressed antithesis. When antithesis 
is fully expressed, the first of the contrasted words will 
be emphatic only when it is new or antithetically sugges- 
tive in relation to the preceding context ; it is not em- 
phatic merely because an antithetic word follows. The 
second of the contrasted words must be emphatic, be- 
cause opposed to the preceding term. 

12. To make the mode of applying the principle of Em- 
phasis perfectly clear, the best way will be to analyse a 
familiar piece of composition. 



II. EXAMPLE OF EMPHATIC ANALYSIS. 
LINES ON THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE. — Wolfe. 

13. At the commencement of a Composition everything 
is, of course, new; and the first subject and predicate will 
be emphatic unless either is in the nature of things im- 
plied in the other. 



I38 EMPHASIS. 

" Not a drum | was heard, | not a funeral note \ 
As I his corpse | to the rampart | we hurried." 

The subject " drum " will be accented and the predicate 
"was heard" unaccented, because the mention of a 
" drum " involves, in the nature of things, recognition by 
the sense of hearing. To accentuate " heard " would in- 
volve one of the false antitheses, 

" Not a drum was heard, " (because we were deaf) ; 

or, 
" Not a drum was heard, (but only seen or felt.) 

The second subject " note " will be emphatic because 
it is contrasted with " drum," and suggests the antithesis 
" not a note " (of any instrument.) " Funeral " is un- 
accented because pre-understood from the Title of the 
Poem. In the next line " as " will be separately accented, 
because it has no reference to the words immediately fol- 
lowing, but to the verb " we hurried. " " His corpse" 
will be unaccented, because a funeral implies a corpse, 
and there is no mention in the context of any other than 
"his." The principal accent of the line may be given 
to " rampart" or " hurried ; " the former would perhaps 
be the better word, as it involves the antithesis, — 

" To the rampart, " (and not to a cemetery.) 

14. In the next two lines, 

"Not a soldier | discharged his farewell shot \ 
O'er the grave | where | our hero | we buried," 

"Soldier" is implied in connection with " drum " and 
"rampart," and the emphasis will fall on "shot," 
" discharged " being involved in the idea of " shot, " and 
"farewell" being involved in the occasion to which 
"shot" refers — a funeral. In the next line no word is 
emphatic, as a " grave " is of course implied. " O'er " 
is implied in the nature of things, as the shot could not 
be discharged under the grave ; " our hero " is the same 
as "his corpse;" and "we buried" is involved in the 
mention of " corpse " and " grave." 

15. In the next lines, 

" We buried him | darkly | at dead of night, \ 
The sods | with our bayonets | turning, " 



EMPHASIS. 139 

the first clause will be unemphatic, as the fact has been 
already stated. To emphasize "buried" would suggest 
the false antithesis 

" We buried him " (instead of leaving him on the battle-field.) 

"Darkly" and "at dead of night" convey the same 
idea ; the latter being the stronger expression will receive 
the principal accent — on " night ; " — and " darkly" will 
be pi"onounced parenthetically. " Turning the sods " is, 
of course, implied in the act of burying ; the word " bayo- 
nets, " therefore, takes the principal accent of the line,, 
because involving the antithesis 

"With our bayonets, " (and not with spades.) 

16. " By the struggling moonbeam's misty light. 
And the lantern | dimly burning. " 

In the first clause, " moonbeam's " will be accented, and 
"misty light" unaccented, because implied in "the 
struggling moonbeam's. " "Lantern" in the second 
line will take the superior accent of the sentence because r 
of the two sources of light spoken of, it is the more im- 
mediately serviceable on the occasion ; and " dimly burn- 
ing " will be unaccented, unless the forced antithesis be 
suggested, — 

" Dimly burning," (as with shrouded light, to escape observation. )< 

\h . "No useless coffin \ enclosed his breast; 

Not in sheet | nor in shroud | we wound him. " 

Emphasis on " coffin, " because the word not only con- 
veys a new idea, but is suggestive of contrast : — 

" No coffin, " (as at ordinary interments.) 

No accent on " useless, " because it would suggest the 
false antithesis. 

" No useless coffin, " (but only one of the least dispensable kind.) 

"Enclosed his breast" without emphasis, because im- 
plied in the mention of "coffin. " Emphasis on "breast " 
would convey the false antithesis, 

(Not) " his breast, " (but merely some other part of his body.) 

"Sheet" and "shroud" in the second line express 
the same idea ; the latter being the stronger term, takes 



I40 EMPHASIS. 

the leading accent. " We wound him " unaccented, be- 
cause implied in the idea of " shroud. " The tones in 
these lines should be rising, to carry on the attention to 
the leading fact of the sentence predicated in the next 
lines. 

iS. " But I he lay | like a warrior taking his rest, 
With his martial cloak | around him." 

" But" separately accented, because it does not refer to 
" he lay, " which is of course implied in the idea of the 
dead warrior. To connect " but" with " he lay" would 
indicate the opposition to be, 

" But he lay, " (instead of being in some other attitude.) 

The reference is rather 

(In " no coffin " or " shroud. ") " but " in " his martial cloak." 

In the simile that follows, no accent on " warrior, " be- 
cause he was a warnor, and not merely was " like" one. 
The principal emphasis of the whole stanza lies on "rest," 
which suggests the antithesis, 

(As if) " taking his rest" (and not with the aspect of death.) 

In the next line, the principal accent on " cloak ; " 
" martial " being implied, unless intended contrast could 
"be supposed between his " martial " and some other 
cloak ; and " around him " being included in the idea of 
a warrior taking rest in his cloak. 

in. '■'•Few I and short | were the prayers | we said, 
And we spoke not | a word of sorrow. " 

The principal accent in the first line -will be on the sub- 
ject " prayers, " but the two predicates " were few, and 
short, " are also accented, because all the ideas are new ; 
the predicates are subordinate to the subject only because 
the latter is placed last. Had the arrangement been re- 
versed, the principal accent would have fallen on the sec- 
ond predicate "short." Thus: — 

" The prayers we said were few and short. " 

No accent on " we said, " because implied in the nature 
■of " prayers, " unless intended contrast could be supposed 
between " said" and chanted, or otherwise uttered. In 



EMPHASIS. 141 

the next line " spoke" being involved in " said, " will 
be unaccented, unless the antithesis be suggested, 

" We spoke not " (though we had the feeling) "of sorrow ; " 

and " word " being involved in " spoke, " will be unac- 
cented, unless the antithesis be suggested, 
(So far from making an oration) "we spoke not (even) a word." 

"Not" must be united accentually with the word 
" spoke, " as the negation refers to the verb, and not to 
the object " a word. " To say 

"We spoke | not a word," 

would be nonsense. " Sorrow, " will be accented, un- 
less either of the preceding words is emphasized ; in the 
latter case "sorrow," would be unemphatic, because 
" spoke not (even) a word'"' would imply " of sorrow " 
as the feeling natural to the occasion. 

20. ''But [ we I steadfastly | gazed | on the face of the dead, 

And I we bitterly thought J of the morrow. " 

The first four words will be separately pronounced, with 
the emphatic force on "gazed," which should have a 
falling turn because it completes the sense. "But " is sep- 
arated from " we " because it does not connect that with 
any other pronoun, but joins "spoke" with " gazed. "" 
The pronoun, adverb, and verb, might be united in one 
accentual group, but such an utterance of this clause 
would be too light and flippant for the solemnity of 
the sentiment. "On the face" without emphasis, as 
no contrast can be intended between face and any other 
part of the body; "of the dead" unemphatic, because 
implied. In the next line " and" should have a sepa- 
rate accent ; " we bitterly thought" may be united, with 
the accent on the adverb ; " thought" being implied in 
the " steadfast gazing" of thinking beings. In the last 
clause "morrow" will be accented, because it intro- 
duces a new idea. 

21 . "We thought I as we hollowed his narrow bed, 

And smoothed down his lonely pillow, | 
That the foe | and the stranger | would tread o'er his head,. 
And ive | far axvay \ on the billow. " 



142 EMPHASIS. 

No emphasis in the first two lines, " we thought" hav- 
ing been already stated, and "as we hollowed and 
smoothed," &c, being implied in the making of a grave. 
The grammatical sentence is, " we thought that the foe," 
&c. " Foe " and " stranger " are accented, but not em- 
phatic, as there can be no antithesis. Treading on the 
grave, whether by friend or foe, would be equally repug- 
nant to the speaker's feelings. The emphasis of the 
sentence therefore lies on "tread." The next clause 
must be unemphatic, as there can be no antithesis in- 
tended to "o'er" or "his" or between "head" and 
any other part of the body. ' ' And we " will have the 
pronoun accented, because opposed to " foe," &c. ; "far 
away " will have the adverb accented because suggesting 

"Far away" (and not here to prevent the indignity.) 

The meaning is not " away on the billow" but " away " 
no matter where; and " on the billow" is merely ex- 
pletive. 

22. " But half I of our heavy task | was done | 

When the clock j struck the hour | for retiring: " 

Accent on " half" to suggest 

" But half" (and not the whole.) 

*' Heavy" and "done" may be accented but not em- 
phatic. In the second line the emphatic force must fall 
on the expressive complement of the predicate, " for re- 
tiring, " because suggesting the antithesis, 

" For retiring " (and not indulging longer in our reverie.) 

27. "And we heard j the distant | and random gun — 
That the foe | was sullenly firing. " 

The first clauses unemphatic, because implied in " the 
clock struck," which of course was also " heard. " The 
emphasis of this line lies on " gun, " which is antithetic 
to " clock." In the last line " foe " is emphatic, because 
antithetic to friend, understood as giving the signal for 
" retiring." 

24. "Slowly I and sadly | we laid him down 

From the field of his fame | fresh | and gory." 

In this sentence the subject " we," the predicate " laid 
liim down," and the expletive clause " from the field of 



EMPHASIS. 143 

his fame," are all implied in the occasion, and the ac- 
cents fall on " slowly" and "sadly," and on "fresh 
and gory," which latter are complements of the object 
" him." The principal accent is on " gory" as the 
stronger of the two adjectives. The predicate includes 
all the words " laid him down from the field of his fame," 
which must be connectively read. A falling termination 
is necessary to disconnect the last clause from " fresh 
and gory, " which would otherwise seem to refer to 
" field" or " fame. " 

2Z. " We carved not | a line, | and we raised not | a stone. 
But I we left him j alone | with his glory." 

The accents in the first line will fall on "line" and 
" stone." The negatives must not be united with the 
objects but with the verbs. To read, 

"We carved | not a line" 

would be nonsense. In the second line "but" should 
be separately pronounced, because it does not refer to 
" we left him " which is implied as a matter of course, 
for even if they had raised a monument to mark the spot, 
they would equally have-" left him." The meaning is 
equivalent to 

" We left him " (with no monumental tablet or cairn, but) 
"alone with his glory." 

The last are therefore the new and accented words. 

26. '•''Lightly I they'll talk | of the spirit that's gone, 

And I o'er his cold ashes | upbraid him ; 
But I nothing j he'll reck | if they let him sleep on j 
In the grave | where | a Briton | has laid him." 

The emphasis in the first line falls on " lightly " — the 
expressive complement of the common-place predicate 
" will talk," — antithesis being implied. Thus, 

" Lightly" (and not reverently as he deserves.) 

The subject "they" is used in the general sense of 
" people " and is unaccented ; " of the spirit that's gone" 
.is implied in connection with the subject of the poem. 
" And " in the second line, must be separate, to discon- 
nect it from the expletive clause that follows ; " up- 



144 EMPHASIS REPETITIONS. 

braid " will be emphatic, as contrasted with the previous 
predicate, 

(Not only) " talk lightly " (but even) "upbraid." 

" But " in the third line, must be separate, to show the 
sense " notwithstanding " (these facts.) " Nothing he'll 
reck, " the first word accented, but the principal em- 
phasis on " he'll " to suggest the antithesis, 

"He'll reck nothing" (although we shall.) 

The only other emphasis is on " Briton, " which is sug- 
gestive of an inference of pride in the nation whose 
chivalry will defend the hero's name and mortal remains 
from insult. 

III. REPETITIONS. 

27. The only exception to the rule that the emphatic 
is always the new idea, is to be found in sentences which 
contain a repetition of an idea previously expressed. 
But the exception is more apparent than real, for the re- 
peated word will generally be found to be suggestive of 
an antithesis between the ordinary meaning arid some 
special acceptation of the word or phrase. 

28. When the repetition includes a clause or a sen- 
tence, and not a word merely, the emphasis will be shifted 
to a different syllable at each repetition, or as often as 
may be practicable. Thus in the following lines from 
Dryden's Ode, " Alexander's Feast," 

Happy, happy, happy pair ! 
None but the brave, 
None but the brave, 
None but the brave 
Deserves the fair. 

In such cases as " happy, happy," &c, the accents can- 
not be shifted, and variety must be given by change of 
tone. Either of the following arrangements would be 
effective. 

"happy happy happy pair;" or 

V /\ 

" happy happy happy pair." 
In such cases as " none but the brave," &c, where a 



READING EXERCISES. 145 

clause is repeated, the accent may be shifted to a different 
syllable at each repetition. Thus, 

V 

None but the brave, 

V 

None but the brave, 
None but the brave 

V 

Deserves the fair. 

29. In the following series of short extracts the em- 
phatic words are indicated to the eye in further illustration 
of the Principle of Emphasis. [The student should ex- 
ercise himself in discovering the contextual reasons for 
the selection of the emphasized words, and also for the 
non-selection of the other words.] Notations for Pitch 
and Clause are introduced in these Exercises. 



TV. READING EXERCISES. 

Marked for Emphasis, Clause, and Pitch. 

adulation. —Pope. 

3 At this— entranced — he lifts his hands and eyes — 

Squeaks like a high-stretched lute- string — and replies : — 

5 " O, 'tis the sweetest — of all earthly things — 

To gaze on princes — and to talk of kings /" — 

*Then — happy man "who shows the tombs ! — said I — 

4 He dwells amidst the royal family ; — 

He — every day — from king to king- can walk — 

Of all our Harrys — all our Edwards talk — 

And get — 2 by speaking truth of monarchs dead — 

4 What few can of the living — *ease — and bread. 

age's sorrow. — Byron. 

4 What is the wow/-ofwoes that wait on age ? — 
3 What stamps the wrinkle deeper on the brow? — 
2 To view each loved one — blotted from life's page — 
3 And be alone on earth — *as /am now. 

ANTiqjJARIAN RAPTURE. Young. 

*How his eyes languish — how his thoughts adore . . . 
That painted coat — which Joseph never wore ! 
3 He shows — on holidays — a sacred pin — 
4 That touched the ruff—* that touched Queen Bess's chin ! 



4 6 



READING EXERCISES. 
BATTLE ALARM. — Byron. 

3 Did ye not hear it? — 2 No — 'twas but the wind — 

Or the car rattling o'er the stony street; — 
*On with the dance!— let joy be unconfined; — 

3 No sleep till morn — when youth and pleasure meet — 
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet — 
2 But harkl — that heavy sound breaks in once more — 

4 As if the clouds its echo would repeat — 
3 And nearer, — clearer, — deadlier than before! 
b Arm! — arm! — it is — it is the cannon's opening roar! 

BATTLE ARRAY. — By r 071. 

— 4 It is a sple?idid sight — 3 to see — 

2 For one who hath no friend, no brother there — 

3 Their rival scarfs of mixed embroidery — 

Their various arms that glitter in the air! — 
4 What gallant war-hounds — rouse them from their lair, 

And gnash their fangs — loud yelling for the prey! — 
% All)o\u the chase- hut few — the triumph share; — 
2 The grave — shall bear the chief est prize away — 
3 And Havoc — 4 scarce for joy can member their array. 

BEAUTY. — Hunt. 

4 What is beauty f — 2 not the show 

Of shapely limbs and features ; — no; — 

^hese are hut flowers - 

That have their dated hours — 
To breathe their transitory sweets — then go. 

4 'Tis the stainless soul within — 

That outshines the fairest skin — 
And yields delights outlasting beauty's glow. 

bereavement. — Campbell. 

'^Hushed were his Gertrude's lips; — but still — their bland 
And beautiful expression — 4 seemed to melt 
With love that could not die ! — 3 and still — his hand 
She presses — to the heart no more that felt. 
4 Ah! heart — where once each fond affection dwelt — 
And features — yet that spoke a soul — more fair! — 
3 Mute— gazing — ^agonising as he knelt. 
3 Of them that stood encircling his despair — 

He . . . heard some friendly words — but — ^knew not what they 
were. 

CLAIMS OF KINDRED.— Scott. 

^he slow-hound — wakes the fox's lair — 
The grey-hound — presses on the hare — 
The eagle — pounces on the lamb — 
The -wolf— devours the fleecy dam; 



READING EXERCISES. I47 

4 Even tiger fell — and sullen bear — 
Their likeness and their li?ieage — spare: — 
Ma?i only — mars kind Nature's plan — 
And turns his fierce pursuits — on man. 

constancy. — Campbell. 

thought ye — jour iron hands of pride — 
Could break — the knot that love had tied? 
No — 4 let the eagle change his plume — 
The leaf 'its hue — the floiver its bloom; 
3 But — ties around this heart were spun — 
*That could not— -would not be undone. 

contemptuous fortitude. — Byron. 

"Have I not had my brain seared — my heart riven — 

Hopes sapped — ?iame blighted— life's life-lieda.wa.yl 

3 And only not to desperation driven — 

Because — 4 not altogether of such clay — 

As rots — into the souls of those whom I survey ! 

COURAGEOUS DEFEAT. — Moore. 

3 The minstrel fell — 4 but — the foeman's chain — 

Could not bring his proud soul under; — 
^he harp he loved — ne'er spoke again — 

For — 4 he tore its chords asunder — 
3 And said — " 4 JVo chains — shall sully thee — 

3 Thou soul of love and bravery! — 
Thy songs were made for the pure and free — 

4 They shall never. — sound in slavery /" 

COURTIERS. — Wolcot. 

"Low at his feet — the spaniel courtiers cower — 

Curl — wheedle — whine — paw — lick his shoe — for power : 

3 Prepared for every insult — servile train — 

"^o take a kicking — and to fawn again. > 

cowardly surrender. — Butler. 

3 'Tis not the least disparagement — 
To be defeated by the event — 
Nor to be beaten by main force — 
A That does not make a man the worse : — 
But — to 3 turn tail and run a-way — 
4 And ■without blows give up the day — 
Or to surrender ere the assault — 
3 That's no man's fortime — 4 but his fault. 



I48 READING EXERCISES. 

DEFIANCE — Scott. 

3 His back — against a rock he bore — 

And — firmly placed his foot before : — 

4 " Come one, — come all I — 5 this rock — shall fly 

From its firm base — as soon as I." 

despair.— Byron. 

3 Loud sung the -wind above — and doubly loud — 

Shook o'er his turret-cell the thunder cloud — 

4 And flashed the lightning by the latticed bar — 

To him — more genial than the midnight star. 

2 Close to the glimmering grate— he dragged his chain — 

3 And hoped— that peril — might not prove in vain. 

4 He raised his ironed hand to heaven — and p rayed 

One pitying flash— to mar the form it made : — 

2 His chains and impious prayer— attract alike — 

^he storm rolled onward— and disdained to strike; — 

2 Its peal waxed fainterrr^ceased — 2 he felt alone, 

3 As if some faithless frie?id had spurned his groan! 

DESPERATE CONFLICT. — Byron. 

ill O?ie effort — one — to break the circling host!" 
^hey form — unite — 'Y^«r^<?/rvwaver/^Vall is lost! 
4 Within a narrower ring compressed — beset — 
3 Hopeless — not heartless — 4 strive and struggle yet ! 
2 Ah ! — ?iow they fight in firmest file no more — 
Hemmed in — cut off — cleft down — and trampled o'er r ; — 
4 But — each strikes singly — silently — and home — 
3 And sinks outxvearied — rather than o'ercome : — 
2 His last— faint quittance — rendering with his breath — 
3 Till^the blade glimmers in the grasp of death. 

error. — Prior. 

3 When people once are in the wrong — 
4 Each line they add — is much too long ; 
3 Who fastest walks — but walks astray — 
4 Is only farthest from his way. 

fame. — Byron. 

4 What is the end— of fame .^ — "'tis but— to fill 

A certain portion of uncertain paper : — 
3 Some — liken it to climbing up a kill — 

Whose summit— like all hills— is lost in vapour. 
4 For this — men write — speak — preach — and heroes kill — 

And bards — burn what they call their " midnight taper"- 
3 To have — when the original is dust — 

A name — a wretched picture — and worse bust. 



READING EXERCISES. I49 

greed of praise. — Goldsmith. 

*Of praise a mei*e glutton — he swallowed what came — 
4 And — the puff of a dunce — he miscounted for fame — 
^ill — his relish grown callous almost to disease — 
4 Who peppered the highest — was surest to please. 

HOPE PERSONIFIED. — Collins. 

4 But thou — O Hope — with eyes so fair — 

What was thy delighted measure? — 

3 Still — it whispered promised pleasure — 
And bade the lovely scenes — at distance hail ! 

2 Still would her touch the strain prolong — 
And — from the rocks — the woods — the vale — 

4 She called on Echo— still — through all her song — 
3 And — where her sweetest theme she chose — 
A soft responsive voice rs\ was heard — at every close — 
4 And Hope enchanted — smiled — and waved her golden hair. 

HUMAN ENJOYMENTS. — Pope. 

3 Behold the child— -by Nature's kindly law 
Pleased with a rattle — tickled with a straw; — 
4 Some livelier -plaything — gives his youth delight — 
3 A little louder — but as empty quite; — 
*Scarfs — garters — gold — amuse his riper stage; 
2 And beads and prayer-hooks — are the toys of age; — 
3 Pleased with this bauble still — as that before — 
Till — tired — he sleeps <t\ and life's poor play — is o'er. 

HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. — Pope. 

^When the proud steed— shall know — ^why — man restrains 

His fiery course — or drives him o'er the plains ; — 

3 When the dull ox — 2 why now he breaks the clod — 

Is now a victim — and now — Egypt's god; — 

i Then — shall man's pride and dulness— comprehend 

His actions' — passions' — being's— use and end ; 

3 Why doing — suffering; — checked— impelled; — 4 and why — 

This hour a slave — the next — a deity. 



^he jocund thunder — wakes the enlivened hounds — 

They rouse from sleep — 4 and a?iswer— sounds for sounds; — 

3 The tuneful noise the sprightly courser hears — 

"Paws the green turf— and pricks his trembling ears : — 

^The slackened rein — now gives him all his speed — 

A Back flies the rapid ground beneath the steed ; — 

Hills — dales — and ioxo,s\.s—far behind remain — 

3 While the warm scent— draws on the deep-mouthed train. 



15O READING EXERCISES. 

INDIGNATION. — Wolcot. 

* Ungrateful scoundrels ! — 3 eat my rolls and butter — 
4 And daring thus their insolences mutter! — 
3 Swallow my turtle and my beef by pounds — 
And tear my ven'son like a pack of hounds — 
4 Tet have the impudence — the brazen face — 
To say — I am not fitted for the place ! 

KING LEAR. — Hood. 

3 A poor — old— king,— with sorrow for my crown, — 

Throned upon straw — and mantled with the wind — 

For pity — my own tears have made me blind — 

4 That I might never see — my children's frown ; 

3 And maybe — madness — like a friend — has thrown 

A folded fillet over my dark mind — 

2 So that unkindly speech — may sound — for kind : — 

3 Albeit — I know not.— I am childish grown — 

And have not gold — to purchase wit withal — 

4 I — that have once maintained most royal state — 

A very bankrupt now — 3 that may not call 

My child — my child ! — i all beggared — 3 save in tears — 

2 Wherewith I daily weep an old man's fate — 

Foolish — and blind — and overcome with years. 

LANDING OF AN ARMY. — Scott. 

3 It was a dread — yet sp irit- stirring sight! — 

4 The billows— foamed beneath a thousand oars ; — 

3 Fast as they land— the red-cross ranks unite — 

Legions on legions brightening all the shores. 

4 Then banners rise — and cannon-signal roars ; — 

Then peals the warlike thunder of the drum — 

Thrills the loud fife— the trumfet — flourish pours — 

5 And patriot hopes awake — and doubts — are dumb — 

For— bold in Freedom's cause — the bands of Ocean— come. 

law. — Pope. 

3 Once — 2 says an author— where I need not say — 

3 Two travellers — found an oyster in their way : 

4 Both fierce — both hungry — the dispute grew strong — 

3 While— scale in hand— Dame Justice— passed along. 

Before her — 4 each with clamour pleads the laws — 

Explained the matter — and would win the cause. 

3 Dame Justice— weighing long the doubtful right — 

Takes— opens /C\ ^swallows it before their sights 

3 The cause of strife — removed so rarely well — 

" There- -take—'" says Justice — " take you each — a shell; — 

4 We thrive at Westminster — on fools like you — 

s 'Twas a fat oyster — 4 live in peace — adieu." 



READING EXERCISES. 151 

leadership. —Byron. 

s What is that spell— that — with commanding art — 
Still dazzles — leads — yet chills the vulgar heart? 
What should it be — that thus men's faith can bind?/^s 
4 The power of thought — the magic of the mind I 
^his — with success— assumed and kept with skill — 
4 Moulds ever — human weakness to its will. 
^Such hath it been — shall be — beneath the sun : — 
4 The many — still must labour for the one I 
'Tis Nature's doom :^T\ 3 but— let the wretch who toils — 
Accuse not — hate not — him who wears the spoils ! 
2 Oh ! — if he knetv — the weight of splendid chains — 
3 How light — the balance of his humbler pains ! 

MISDIRECTED EFFORTS. — Swift. 

^Brutes — find out where their talents lie : — 
3 A bear — will not attempt to fly; — 
A foundered horse — will oft debate 
Before he tries a five-barred gate ; 
A dog — by instinct turns aside — 
Who sees the ditch too deep and wide : — 
4 But man — we find the only creature — 
Who — led by folly — combats nature — 
And — 4 where his genius least inclines — 
^Absurdly — bends his whole designs. 

MISFORTUNES. — Toung. 

3 Oh ! mortals — short of sight — who think — the past 
O'erblown misfortune — still shall prove the last : — 
" 2 Alas ! — misfortunes travel in a train — 
And oft in life form one perpetual chain. 
% Fear buries fear — and ills on ills attend — 
Till — i ltfe and sorrow — meet one common end. 

MUSIC AND LANGUAGE. — Moore. 

4 'Music ! /Ts oh ! — 3 how faint — how weak — 

Language— fades before thy spell !— 
4 Why should feeling ever speak — 

4 When thou canst breathe her soul so well ? 
* Friendship' s balmy Avords — may feign — 

^Love's — are even more false than they; — 
2 Oh ! — 'tis only— 4 music's strain — 

3 Can sweetly soothe — 4 and not betray ! 

outcry. — Pope. 

4 Then flashed the living lightning from her eyes — 
5 And screams of horror rend the affrighted skies — 



152 READING EXERCISES. 

8 Not louder shrieks to pitying heaven are cast — 
4 When husbands — 5 or when lap-dogs breathe their last- 
Or — when rich china vessels — fallen from high — 
3 In glittering dust and painted fragments lie. 

patriotic resolve. — Campbell. 

4 Oh ! Heaven! — he cried — my bleeding country save! 
Is there no hand on high— to shield the brave ?<t\ 
3 Yet — though destruction sweep these lovely plains — 
A Rise — fellow men! — our country yet remains ! — 
3 By that dread name — we wave the sword on high — 
4 And swear st\ for her to live — -with her — to die. 

peasant life. — Goldsmith. 

i Ill fares the land — to hastening ills a prey — 
3 Where -wealth accumulates — 3 and men — decay, — 
3 Princes and lords — may flourish or may fade — 
A breath can make them — as a breath hath made; — 
4 But — a bold peasantry — 3 their country's pride — 
When once destroyed — 4 can never be supplied. 

POWER OF MUSIC— Pope. 

3 By music — minds— an equal temper know — 

Nor swell too high— nor sink too low : 

4 If — in the breast — tumultuous joys arise — 

2 Music— her soft assuasive voice applies ; — 

3 Or — when the soul is pressed with cares — 

Exalts her — in enlivening airs. 

4 Warriors— she fires with animated sounds — 

2 Pours balm into the bleeding lover's wounds : — 

^Melancholy— lifts her head — 

Morpheus — rouses from his bed — 

Sloth — unfolds her arms and wakes — 

4 Listening E?ivy — drops her snakes. 

3 Intestine wars — no more — our passions wage — 

And giddy factions— hear a-way their rage. 

precedents. — Cotvper. 

4 To follow foolish precede?its — and wink 
With both our eyes— 3 is easier — than to think. 

retrospection. — Moore. 

% As — slow — our ship — her foamy track 
Against the wind was cleaving — 

Her trembling pennant — still looked back — 
To that dear land 'twas leaving — 






READING EXERCISES. 153 

4 So — loath we part from all we love — 

From all the links that bind us — 
So turn our hearts — -where'er we rove — 

"To those we've left behind us. 

SECOND-HAND FAME. — Young. 

3 He stands for fame — on his forefathers' feet — 
By . . . A heraldry — proved valiant or discreet ! 

separation. — Moore. 

3 A boat — 2 at midnight sent alone — 

To drift upon the moonless sea — 
3 A lute — 2 whose leading chord is gone — 
3 A wounded bird — 2 that hath but one 
Imperfect wing — to soar upon — 

4 Are like i^\ 3 what /am— -without thee. 

shipwreck. —Byron. 

4 Then rose from sea to sky — the wild farewell — 

: Then shrieked the timid — and stood still — the brave — 

"Then some leaped overboard— with dreadful yell — 
2 As eager to anticipate their grave — 

3 And the sea yawned around her — like a hell — 

And down she sucked with her the whirling wave — 

4 Like one who grapples with his enemy — 

And strives to strangle him — before ... he die. 

s And first — 5 one universal shriek there rushed — 

3 Louder than the loud ocean — like a crash 
Of echoing thunder — -and then *^\ all /tn Svas hushed — 

3 Save the wild wind — and the remorseless dash 
Of billows ; — 4 but /T\ at intervals /"^ there gushed — 

Accompanied with a convulsive splash — 
3 A solitary shriek — the bubbling cry 
Of some strong swimmer— in his agony. 

sleep.— By ron. 

3 There lie — love's feverish hope — and cunning's guile — 

Hate's working brain — and lulled ambition's wile; — 

2 0'er each vain eye — ^oblivions pinions wave — 

And quenched existence — crouches in a grave. 

3 What better name — may slumber's bed become? 

Night's sepulchre— the universal home — 

''Where weakness — strength — vice— virtue — sunk supine — 

3 Alike — in naked helplessness recline; — 

4 Glad— for awhile to heave unconscious breath — 

*Yet wake — to wrestle with the dread of death. — 

4 And shun — though day but dawn on ills increased — 

That sleep — the loveliest—since it dreams the least. 



154 READING EXERCISES. 

solitude. — Byron. 

3 To sit on rocks — to muse o'er flood and fell — 

To slowly trace the fores t's shady scene — 

Where things that own not ?nan''s dominion — dwell — 

And mortal foot hath ne'er — or rarely been ; — 

4 To climb the trackless mountain — all unseen — 

3 With the wild flock that never needs a fold ; — 

Alone— o'er steeps and foaming/alls to lean; — 

4 7V//s— is not solitude ;— 3 'tis but to hold 

Converse with nature's charms — and view her stores unrolled. 

4 But— midst the crowd — the hum — the shock of men — 
To hear— to see— to feel — and to possess — 
3 And roam along— the world's tired denizen — 
2 With none who bless us — none whom toe can bless — 
4 Minions of splendour — shrinking- from disti-ess ! 
3 None — that — with kindred consciousness endued — 
4 If we were not — would seem to smile the less — 
"^Oi all— thaX. flattered— followed —sought and sued — 
4 This — is to be alone; — this — this — is solitude. 

SOUNDS OF AN ARMY. — Moore. 

3 Hearken ! — what discords now, — of every kind 

4 Shouts, laughs, and screams —are revelling in the wind ! — 

3 The neigh of cavalry — the tinkling throngs 

Of laden camels — and their drivers' songs; — 

4 Ringing of arms — and flapping in the breeze — 

Of streamers from ten' thousand canopies ; — 

^War-music — bursting out from time to time — 

4 With gong and tymbalon's tremendous chime ; — 

2 Or — in the pause, — when harsher sounds are mute — 

3 The mellow breathings of some horn— or flute — 

That — far off — 4 broken by the eagle note 

Of the directing trumpet — 3 swell and float. 

sounds of morning. — Beattie. 

4 The melodies— of morning — who can tellf '/tn 

^he wild brook — babbling down the mountain's side — 

The lowing herd — the sheepfold's simple bell — 

The pipe of early shepherd— dim descried 

In the lone valley; — 4 echoing far and wide — 

The clamorous horn — along the cliffs above ; — 

2 The hollow murmur — of the ocean tide ; — 

The hum — of bees — 3 the liitnefs lay of love — 

4 And the full choir— that wakes the universal grove. 

STANDARDS OF CHARACTER. — PopC. 

4 'Tis from high life— high characters are drawn : — 
3 A saint — in crape— is txvice a saint — in lawn; — 



READING EXERCISES. 1 55 

A judge — is just ; — a chancellor — juster still ; — 

A govonman — learn 'd ; — 4 a bishop — what you vjill;r7\ 

3 Wise — if a minister; — but — 4 if a king — 

More wise — more learn'd — more just — 5 more . . . everything. 

STILLNESS.— Scott. 

3 The wind — breathed soft as lover's sigh — 
2 And — oft renewed— seemed oft— to die — 

With breathless pause between. 
3 0, — iv ho — with speech of war and woes — 
Would wish to break — the soft repose — 

4 Of such encha?iting scene ! 

THE HUNTED DEER. — Scott. 

3 As chief— vfho hears his warder call — 

5 " To arms! — the foemen storm the wall !" — 

3 The antlered monarch of the waste — 

^Sprung from his heathery couch in haste. 

3 But — ere his fleet career he took — 

The (few-drops from his flanks he shook — 

2 A moment ^flzerf-adown the vale — 

A moment — snuffed the tainted gale — 

A moment listened /ts 3 to the cry 

That thickened as the chace drew nigh — 

4 Then — as the headmost foes appeared — 

5 With one brave bound — the copse he cleared. 

THE PASSING CHACE. — Scott. 

4 Their peal — the merry horns rung out — 
5 A hundred voices — joined the shout; — 
3 With hark and whoop and wild halloo — 
4 No rest — the mountain echoes knew. 
% Far from the tumult— fled the roe — 
^Close in her covert — cowered the doe; — 
4 The falcon — from her cairn on high 
Cast on the rout a ■wondering eye — 
Till — far beyond her piercing ken — 
The hurricane had swept, the glen. 
z Faint — and more faint— its failing din — 
2 Returned — from cavern, cliff, and linn ; — 
*And silence r?\ 2 settled — wide and still — 
3 On the lone wood and mighty hill. 

wiseacres. — Byron. 

4 Of all the horrid, — hideous notes of woe — 

2 Sadder than ovjI songs on the midnight blast — 

3 Is that portentous phrase — 4 " I told you so" — ■ 

3 Uttered by . . .friends — those prophets of the past — 



156 EMPHASIS RESUME. 

Who — 'stead of saying what you now should do — 

4 Own — {hey foresaw — that you would fall at last — 
3 And solace your slight lapse 'gainst " bonos mores " — 
With a long memorandum of otd stories. 

youth. — Gray. 

3 Fair — laughs the morn — and soft — the zephyr blows — 

While — proudly riding o'er the azure realm — 

In gallant trim — the gilded vessel goes — 

4 Youth on the prow — and Pleasure at the helm; — 

'^Regardless — of the sweeping whirlwind's sway — 

2 That — hushed in grim repose — expects his evening prey 



V. RESUME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF SENTENTIAL 
ACCENT OR EMPHASIS. 

44. I. All words expressive of ideas ?iew to the con- 
text, are emphatic. II. Words used in contrast to a pre- 
ceding term are emphatic in a stronger degree. III. 
All words suggestive of unexpressed antithesis are em- 
phatic in the strongest degree. IV. Words which are of 
necessity implied, or the idea conveyed by which has 
been included in former expressions, explanatory terms, 
and repeated words — not suggesting a special, in oppo- 
sition to their ordinary, acceptation — are unemphatic. 

45. The following passages which have been selected 
for their unusual difficulty of emphasizing, — should be 
carefully studied. Read each extract three times ; at the 
first reading insert a pencil dot below the accented syl- 
lable of the words selected for emphasis ; at the second 
reading, draw a short line below the emphatic syllables ; 
and at the third reading underline the w/iole of each em- 
phatic word. An examination can then be made of the 
differences of marking at the various readings, and the 
reasons revolved on which words have been rejected or 
approved. Afterwards, but not before, compare with 
the KEY, appended to the Extracts. 



^v 



SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. Iff 



VI. PASSAGES FOR EXERCISE IN THE SELECTION 

OF EMPHATIC WORDS. 

anecdote. — Fuller. 

The Sidonian servants agreed amongst themselves to choose 
him to be their king who that morning should first see the sun. 
Whilst all others were gazing on the east, one alone looked on 
the west; some admired, more mocked him, as if he looked on 
the feet to find the eye of the face. But he first of all discovered 
the light of the sun shining on the tops of the houses. God is 
seen sooner, easier, clearer, in his operations than in his essence \ 
best beheld by reflection in his creatures. 

BLINDNES S . — Milton . 

When I consider how my light is spent 

Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, 
And that one talent which is death to hide 

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent 

To serve therewith my Maker, and present 
My true account, lest He, returning, chide ; — 
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" 

I fondly ask : but Patience to prevent 

That murmur, soon replies, " God doth not need 

Either man's work, or His own gifts ; who best 

Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state 
Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed, 

And post o'er land and ocean without rest ; 

They also serve who only stand and wait." / 

cheerful piety. — " Private Life.'''' 

The cultivation of cheerfulness is not sufficiently considered as 
forming part of the duty of a Christian ; but it forms a very ma- 
terial part. It recommends religion to the world in general, and 
gives a brightness and charm to domestic life. Piety, with her 
skull and cross-bones, her haircloth, scourges, and tearful coun- 
tenance, is a very repulsive personage ; but Piety with her 
gentle silver tones of kindness, her hand of helpfulness, her glad 
smile, and eyes full of grateful hope fixed on Heaven, is attrac- 
tive and beautiful. Cheerfulness ought to be one of the unfail- 
ing attributes of Christian Piety. 

consolation in misfortune. — Lord North. 

Voltaire gives an account of an unfortunate man, who had lost 
a leg and an arm in one place; had his nose cut off* and his eyes 
put out, in another; had been hung up and cut down, in a third ; 
had been imprisoned by the Inquisition, and condemned to be 
burnt, and at last found himself chained to the oar as a galley- 
slave ; and who, nevertheless, consoled himself with saying, 
"Thank God for all I have suffered! I should not otherwise 



^ 



158 



SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. 



have known the luxury of eating orange-chips and pistachio nuts 
in the harbour of Constantinople." 

contentment. — Warwick. 

There is no estate of life so happy in this world as to yield a 
Christian the perfection of content, and yet there is no state of 
life so wretched in this world, but a Christian must be content 
with it. Though I have nothing that may give me a true con- 
tent, yet I will learn to be truly contented here with what I have. 
What care I, though I have not much? I have as much as I 
desire, if I have as much as I want; I have as much as the most, 
if I have as much as I desire. 

courteousness. — Leighton. 

The roots of plants are hid under the ground, so that them- 
selves are not seen, but they appear in their branches, and flowers, 
and fruits, which argue there is a root and life in them : thus the 
graces of the Spirit planted in the soul, though themselves in- 
visible, yet discover their being and life, in the tract of a Chris- 
tian's life, his words and actions, and the whole frame of his 
carriage. 

EqyALiTY of men. — Bishop Home. 

The different ranks and orders of mankind may be com- 
pared to so many streams and rivers of running water. All pro- 
ceed from an original, small and obscure ; some spread wider, 
travel over more countries, and make more noise in their pas- 
sage than others ; but all tend alike to an ocean, where distinc- 
tion ceases, and where the largest and most celebrated rivers 
are equally lost, and absorbed with the smallest and most un- 
known streams. 

ERROR AND IGNORANCE. 

It is almost as difficult to make a man unlearn his errors as his 
knowledge. Mal-information is more hopeless than non-infor- 
mation ; for error is always more busy than ignorance. Igno- 
rance is a blank sheet, on which we may write ; but error is a 
scribbled one, from which we must first erase. Ignorance is 
contented to stand still with her back to the truth ; but error is 
more presumptuous, and proceeds in the backward direction. 
Ignorance has no light, but error follows a false one : the conse- 
quence is, that error, when she retraces her footsteps, has farther 
to go before she can arrive at the truth than ignorance. 

EVIL speaking. — Warwick. 

It is not good to speak evil of all whom we know bad ; it is 
worse to judge evil of any who may prove good. To speak ill 
upon knowledge shows a want of charity ; to speak ill upon sus- 
picion shows a want of honesty. To know evil of others, and 
not speak it, is sometimes discretion ; to speak evil of others, and 



SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. 159 

not know it, is always dishonesty. He may be evil himself who 
speaks good of others upon knowledge, but he can never be 
good himself who speaks evil of others upon suspicion. 

FAITHFUL PRAYER. 

Friend, thou must trust in Him who trod before 

The desolate path of life : 

Must bear in meekness, as He meekly bore, 

Sorrow, and pain, and strife. 

Think how the Son of God 

These thorny paths hath trod ; 

Think how He longed to go, 

Yet tarried out for thee, the appointed woe. 

Think of His weariness in places dim, 

Where no man comforted, or cared for Him. 

Think of the blood-like sweat 

With which His brow was wet, 

Yet how He prayed, unaided and alone, 

In that great agony — " Thy will be done !" 

Friend ! do not thou despair, 

Christ, from His heaven of heavens, will hear thy prayer. 

figurative language. — Berkeley. 

Nothing is more natural than to make the things we know, a 
step towards those we do not know; and to explain, or represent 
things less familiar by others which are more so. We imagine 
before we reflect, and we perceive by sense before we imagine ; 
and of all our senses sight is the most clear, distinct, various, 
agreeable, and comprehensive. Hence it is natural to assist the 
intellect by the imagination, the imagination by sense, and the 
other senses by sight. Hence figures, metaphors, and types. 
We illustrate spiritual things by corporeal ; we substitute sounds 
for thoughts, and written letters for sounds; emblems, symbols 
and hieroglyphics, for things too obscure to strike, and too vari- 
ous or too fleeting to be retained. We substitute things imagi- 
nable for things intelligible; sensible things for imaginable, 
smaller things for those that are too great to comprehend easily, 
and greater things for such as are too small to be discerned dis- 
tinctly; present things for absent, permanent for perishing, and 
visible for invisible. 

Flowers. — Mary Hotvitt. 

God might have bade the earth bring forth enough for great 

and small, 
The oak tree and the cedar tree, without a flower at all. 
The ore within the mountain mine requireth none to grow ; 
Nor doth it need the lotus flower to make the river flow. 
The clouds might give abundant rain, the nightly dews might fall, 
And the herb that keepeth lire in man might yet have drunk 

them all ; 



l6o SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. 

Our outward life requires them not : then wherefore had they 

birth? 
To minister delight to man, — to beautify the earth, — 
To whisper hope, to comfort man whene'er his faith is dim : 
For who so careth for the flowers, will care much more for him. 

forgiving disposition. — Sterne. 

The brave only know how to forgive ; it is the most refined 
and generous pitch of virtue human nature can arrive at. Cow- 
ards have done good and kind actions ; cowards have even 
fought, nay, sometimes even conquered : but a coward never for- 
gave ; it is not in his nature ; the power of doing it flows only 
from a strength and greatness of soul, conscious of its own force 
and security, and above the little temptations of resenting every 
fruitless attempt to interrupt its happiness. 

FRUITLESS RESOLUTIONS. — Toting. 

At thirty, man suspects himself a fool ; 
Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan'; 
At fifty, chides his infamous delay, — 
Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve ; 
In all the magnanimity of thought, 
Resolves, and re-resolves, then dies the same. 

GRATEFUL RECOGNITION — ARGUS. — Pope, 

When wise Ulysses, — from his native coast, 
Long kept by wars, and long by tempest tossed, — 
Arrived at last, poor, old, disguised, alone, 
To all his friends, and e'en his queen, unknown; — 
Changed as he was, with age, and toils, and cares, 
Furrowed his reverend face, and white his hairs, 
In his own palace forced to ask his bread. 
Scorned by those slaves his former bounty fed; 
Forgot of all his own domestic crew; — 
The faithful dog alone his rightful master knew. 
Unfed, unhoused, neglected, on the clay, 
Like an old servant now cashiered he lay; 
Touched with resentment of ungrateful man, 
And longing to behold his ancient lord again. 
Him, when he saw, he rose, and crawled to meet, — 
'Twas all he could — and fawned and kissed his feet — 
Seized with dumb joy — then falling by his side, 
Owned his returning lord, looked up, and died ! 

KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM. 

Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, 
Have oft-times no connection. Knowledge dwells 
In heads replete with thoughts of other men ; 
Wisdom, in minds attentive to their own. 



SELECTION OF EMPHASIS l"6l 

Knowledge — a rude unprofitable mass, 
The mere materials with which wisdom builds, — 
Till smoothed, and squared, and fitted to its place, 
Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich : 
Knowledge is proud, that he has learned so much ; 
Wisdom is humble, that he knows no more. 

MAN. — King. 
Like to the falling of a star, 
Or as the flights of eagles are, 
Or like the fresh spring's gaudy hue. 
Or silver drops of morning dew; 
Or like a wind that chafes the flood, 
Or bubbles which on water stood : 
Even such is man, whose borrowed light 
Is straight called in, and paid to night : — 
The wind blows out, the bubble dies, 
The Spring entombed in Autumn lies, — 
The dew's dried up, the star is shot, 
The flight is past, and man forgot. 

ON LITERARY EXTRACTS. — Willmott. 

Johnson condemns the belief that a poet can be introduced to 
a just reputation by select quotations ; and compares a critic 
who should make the attempt, to the famous pedant in Hiero- 
cles, who, when he wished to sell his house, carried a specimen 
brick in his pocket. Such a sentiment was natural and appro- 
priate upon the lips of an editor of a great dramatic poet ; but 
that it did not extend to literary extracts, we know from Bos- 
well, to whom Johnson often expressed his love of those little 
volumes of" Beauties, " by which celebrated authors have been 
recommended to the vulgar. A thousand persons will read a 
page, who would never open a folio. A single flower may in- 
duce a wanderer to visit the garden; a single bunch of grapes 
may allure him into a land of promise. 

politeness. — Lord Chatham. 
As to politeness, many have attempted its definition. I believe 
it is best to be known by description ; definition not being able 
to comprise it. I would, however, venture to call it benevo- 
lence in trifles, or the preference of others to ourselves, in little, 
daily, hourly occurrences in the commerce of life. A better 
place, a more commodious seat, priority in being helped at table; 
what is it but sacrificing ourselves in such trifles to the conve- 
nience and pleasure of others? And this constitutes true polite- 
ness. Bowing, ceremonies, formal compliments, stiff civilities, 
will never be politeness; that must be easy, natural, unstudied, 
manly, noble. And what will give this — but a mind benevolent 
and perpetually attentive to exert that amiable disposition 
towards all you converse and live with ? Benevolence in great 
matters takes a higher name, and is the Queen of Virtue. 
II 



1 62 SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. 

self-satisfaction. — Hare. 

Thorwaldsen being found by a friend one day somewhat out 
of spirits, was asked whether anything had occurred to distress 
him ; he answered : " My genius is decaying. " " What do you 
mean?" said the visitor. " Why, here is my statue of Christ ; 
it is the first of my works that I have ever feh-satisfied with. 
Till now, my idea has always been far beyond what I could exe- 
cute ; but it is no longer so ; I shall never have a great idea again." 

temper. — '•'■Private Life" 

There are persons who, on the subject of temper, plead a sort 
of prescriptive right to indulgence, on the ground of constitu- 
tional infirmity, or hereditary entailment; but before such pleas 
can be considered valid in the court of Conscience, let such per- 
sons ask themselves, whether there are no circumstances suffi- 
ciently powerful, whether there is no presence sufficiently august, 
to awe them into self-control ; whether in certain moments of 
their lives they have not found the most indignant feelings con- 
trollable, the fiercest blaze of passion repressible? If this be the 
case — and experience will generally attest that it is so — the plea 
of necessity falls to the ground ; for we should never forget that, 
in every moment of our lives, we are in a Presence the most 
august, under the vigilant observation of a Being, compared to 
whose glance the gaze of an assembled world is powerless and 
insignificant. 

TO THE BUTTERFLY. — Rogers. 

Child of the sun ! pursue thy rapturous flight, 
Mingling with her thou lov'st in fields of light. 
And where the flowers of paradise unfold, 
Quaff fragrant nectar from their cups of gold : 
There shall thy wings, rich as an evening sky, 
Expand and shut with silent ecstasy. 
Yet, wert thou once a worm, — a thing that crept 
On the bare earth, then wrought a tomb, and slept. 
And such is man ! soon from his cell of clay 
To burst, a seraph, in the blaze of day. 



Time moveth not ! our being 'tis that moves ; 
And we, swift gliding down life's rapid stream, 
Dream of swift ages, and revolving years, 
Ordained to chronicle our passing days ; 
So the young sailor, in the gallant bark 
Scudding before the wind, beholds the coast 
Receding from his eyes, and thinks the while, 
Struck with amaze, that he is motionless, 
And that the land is sailing. 



SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. KEY. 1 63 

VEGETATION. 

Say what impels, amidst surrounding snow- 
Congealed, the crocus' flaming bud to glow? 
Say what retards, amidst the summer's blaze, 
The autumnal bulb, till pale declining days? 
The God of Seasons, whose pervading power 
Controls the sun, or sheds the fleecy shower; 
He bids each flower his quickening word obey, 
Or to each lingering bloom enjoins delay. 

wit. — Pope. 

True wit is Nature to advantage dressed, 

What oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed ; 

Something whose truth, convinced at sight, we find, 

That gives us back the image of our mind. 

As shades more sweetly recommend the light, 

So modest plainness sets off" sprightly wit, 

For works may have more wit than does them good, 

As bodies perish through excess of blood. 



46. KEY. 

To the Emphatic Words in the Foregoing Extracts. 

1. Sidonian, agreed, King, Sun, one, west, mocked, feet, face, 
he, houses, God, his, reflection. 

2. Light, half, hide, more, account, labour, Patience, need, 
bear, they, kingly, thousands, ocean, also, stand. 

3. Cheerfulness, duty, very, recommends, world, domestic, 
cross, tearful, repulsive, kindness, hand, hope, beautiful, un- 
failing. 

4. Voltaire, leg, arm, nose, eyes, up, Inquisition, burnt, galley, 
consoled, thank, otherwise, pistachio, Constantinople. 

5. No, happy, content, yet, wretched, must, give, learn, have, 
much, desire, want, most. 

6. Roots, hid, branches, flowers, fruits, is, Spirit, discover, 
their, whole. 

7. Orders, streams, all, obscure, noise, alike, ceases, cele- 
brated, equally, un(known). 

8. Almost, errors, hopeless, non-(information), busy, blank, 
scribbled, erase, still, proceeds, no, false, consequence, farther, 
ignorance. 

9. Speak, know, judge, good, knowledge, charity, suspicion, 
honesty, not, discretion, know, always, evil, never, suspicion. 

10. Trust, before, bear, He, sorrow, God, longed, thee, weari- 
ness, no, Him, blood, prayed, Thy, despair, hear. 

11. Natural, know, not, less, more, imagine, reflect, sense, 
sight, comprehensive, intellect, imagination, sense, other, sight, 
figures, spiritual, corporeal, sounds, letters, hieroglyphics, ob- 



164 SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. KEY. 

scure, retained, imaginable, intelligible, sensible, smaller, easily, 
greater, distinctly, present, permanent, in-( visible). 

12. Might, enough, flower, ore, river, dews, herb, all, outward, 
not, wherefore, delight, beautify, hope, faith, so, more, him. 

13. Brave, forgive, can, cowards, kind, fought, conquered, 
never, nature, greatness, conscious, above, interrupt. 

14. Thirty, suspects, fool, knows, forty, plan, fifty, chides, 
resolve, thought, re-(resolves), dies. 

15. Ulysses, long, tempest, arrived, queen, unknown, was, 
bread, scorned, forgot, dog, knew, clay, resentment, longing, 
when, crawled, kissed, falling, died. 

16. One, connexion, knowledge, other, wisdom, own, knowl- 
edge, materials, encumber, proud, wisdom, humble, more. 

17. Star, eagles, spring's, dew, wind, bubbles, even, man, in, 
night, out, bubble, autumn, dew's, star, flight, forgot. 

18. Johnson, condemns, poet, just, quotations, attempt, Hier- 
ocles, house, brick, appropriate, editor, not, Boswell, love, beau- 
ties, recommended, thousand, page, folio, flower, garden, grapes, 
land. 

19. Politeness, many, definition, description, able, benevo- 
lence, trifles, others, place, commodious, helped, sacrificing, 
constitutes, never, easy, manly, give, perpetually, all, great, 
Queen. 

20. Thorwaldsen, spirits, occurred, genius, mean, Christ, first, 
satisfied, far, never. 

21. Temper, indulgence, constitutional, valid, ask, no, control, 
indignant, fiercest, if, is, ground, never, every, are, most, world, 
insignificant. 

22. Sun, pursue, lov'st, paradise, nectar, sky, ecstasy, worm, 
earth, man, his, seraph. 

23. Time, not, being, dream, chronicle, sailor, receding, he, 
motionless, land. 

24. What, snow, crocus, retards, autumnal, God, controls, 
shower, He, lingering. 

25. Wit, advantage, well, sight, our, shades, light, plainness, 
good, blood. 

Key to the Emphatic Words in " Thunderstorm among the 
Alps," p. 82. 

1. Such, night, wondrous, lovely, eye, far, thunder, one, every, 
Jura, Alps. 

2. Night, glorious, slumber, me, sharer, portion, shines, 
phosphoric, rain, black, glee, snakes, earthquake's. 



THE 



PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION, 



PART FIFTH. 



LOOKS AND GESTURES. 



I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

i. Vocal Expression, however perfect, fails to give 
delivery its full impressiveness, if the face and whole 
body do not sympathetically manifest the feeling which 
vibrates in the tones. Nothing can be more spiritless 
and unnatural than rigid stillness on the part of an ora- 
tor. But the tendency to gesticulate is so natural, that 
instruction will generally be needed rather to subdue and 
chasten, than to create gesticulation. To a speaker of 
any animation, the greatest difficulty is to stand still. 

2. In the natural order of passionate expression, looks 
are first, gestures second, and words last. " The 
strongfelt passion bolts into the face " before it moves the 
massier muscles of the trunk and limbs ; and its tardiest 
expression is in the artificial and conventional form of 
articulate language. Gesture which, thus, in strong emo- 
tion precedes the words, in calmer feeling accompanies 
them ; but it must never lag behind the utterance it illus- 
trates. 



II. EXPRESSIVENESS OF THE DIFFERENT FACIAL 
AND BODILY MOTIONS. 

3. The Features expand in pleasure and contract in 
pain. 

They are elongated in melancholy. 
165 



l66 EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES. 

They are smooth in placidity, and variously fur- 
rowed in emotion. 
They grin in folly. 

4. The Eyebrows are lifted in surprise, in inquiry, 
and in hope. 

They are depressed in conviction, in authority, and 

in despair. 
They are knitted in sorrow, in solicitude, and in 

anger. 
They droop in weakness. 

5. The Eyes beam in love, they sparkle in mirth, they 
flash and roll in anger, they melt in grief. 

They are raised in hope, and dejected in despond- 
ency. 

They measure their object from head to foot in 
contempt. 

They stare in wonder, and wink in cunning. 

They are levelled in modesty, and cast downward 
in shame. 

They are restless in terror, in anxiety, and in idiocy. 

They are fixed in confidence, in boldness, and in 
y energy. 

They look askance in suspicion, and secrecy. 

They are cast on vacancy in thought. 

6. The Nostrils are relaxed in equanimity. 
They are expanded and rigid in violent passions. 
They quiver in excitement. 

They are twitched up in disgust and contempt. 

7. The Lips are drawn back and raised in delight and 
mirth. 

They are depressed and projected in pain, in sadness, 
and grief. 

The corners of the lips are curled upward in con- 
tempt, and downward in disgust. 

The lips are loose and sprawling in mental vacuity. 

They are muscular and mobile in intellectuality. 

They are firm in decision and energy. 

They are relaxed in weakness and irresolution. 

They are pouted in boasting, and in pettishness. 

They are bitten in vexation and discomfiture. 

They are compressed in agony. 



EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES. 1 67 

8. The Mouth is open in fear, in wonder, in listening, 
in languor, and in desire. 

It is shut in apathy, in pride, in boldness, and in 

sullenness. 
The jaw falls in melancholy. 
The teeth are gnashed in anger. 
The tongue is protruded in imbecility. 

9. The Head is erect in courage and confidence. 
It is crouched in fear. 

It is thrown back in pride and self-conceit. 

It hangs forward in humility. 

It is protruded in curiosity, and in short-sightedness. 

It lies to one side in bashfulness, in languor, or in 

indolence. 
It rolls or tosses in anger. 
It shakes in denial, and in sadness. 
It is jerked backward in invitation, forward in assent, 

and to one side in boasting, in threatening, or in 

dogmatism. 

10. The Arms hang easily from the shoulders in grace. 
They droop listlessly in weakness and in humility. 
They are rigid in anger. 

They are folded across the chest or placed a-kimbo in 

self-complacence. 
They are held forward in entreaty. 
They are extended in welcome and in admiration. 
They are raised in appeal or in expectancy. 
They fall suddenly in disappointment. 
They are drawn back in aversion. 
They shrink and bend in terror. 

1 1 . The Hands are open and relaxed in graceful calm- 
ness. 

They are rigidly expanded in fear or horror. 

They are locked or clasped in emotion. 

They are wrung in anguish and clenched in anger. 

They are raised in supplication. 

They descend slowly in blessing. 

They fall with quiet vehemence in malediction or 

threatening. 
They are moved towards the body in invitation or in 

egotism. 



1 68 EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES. 

They are pushed from the body in rejection or dis- 
missal. 

They start in astonishment. 

They wave or clap in joy or approbation. 

The palms are turned upwards in candour or sin- 
cerity, and downwards in concealment or cunning. 

They are turned outwards in defence, in apprehen- 
sion, or in aversion, and inwards in boldness or 
confidence. 

The hand on the forehead indicates pain, confusion, 
or mental distress ; on the crown of the head, gid- 
diness or delirium ; on the side of the head, stupor ; 
on the eyes, shame or grief. 

Both hands similarly applied intensify the expres- 
sion. 

The hand supporting the cheek expresses languor or 
weariness; supporting the chin, meditation. 

The hand laid on the breast appeals to conscience, or 
indicates desire. 

The hands crossed on the breast express meekness or 
resignation. 

The hand pressed on the upper part of the chest, or 
beating it, expresses remorse, or acute bodily dis- 
tress. 

The hand on the lower part of the chest indicates 
boldness or pride. 

The back of one hand laid in the palm of the other 
shows determination or obduracy. 

The hands applied palm to palm express supplica- 
tion. 

The hands crossed palm to palm express resignation. 
12. The Fingers are relaxed and slightly separated in 
placidity. 

They are rigidly separated in fear. 

They are firmly bent in anger. 

The forefinger directs attention to any object by 
pointing ; with a falling motion of the hand it 
reproves or warns ; applied successively to the 
finger tips of the other hand, it enumerates. 

Laid in the palm of the other hand, it specifies dog- 
maticallv. 



EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES. 1 69 

The fingers of both hands loosely applied tips to tips 
express accumulation or adjustment. 

13. The Body held easily erect expresses courage and 
resolution. 

Held stiffly erect, it denotes pride, haughtiness, or 
the assumption of dignity. 

Thrown back, it indicates defiance. 

Stooping forward, it denotes condescension, com- 
passion, or humility. 

Bending, it expresses respect, reverence, or saluta- 
tion. 

Prostrated, it denotes moral degradation or self- 
loathing. 

14. The Lower Limbs held straight and rigid indi- 
cate self-conceit or obstinacy. 

Relaxed and bent, they show timidity, awkwardness, 

or frailty. 
One limb slightly bent and the other straight, denote 

graceful ease. 
The limbs shake in terror. 
They kneel in prayer. 

15. The Feet pointing directly forward indicate boor- 
ishness. 

Turned inward, they suggest deformity. 

Close together, they denote timidity or awkwardness. 

Separated by about the breadth of the foot, and with 
one heel in advance of, and pointing towards, the 
other heel, they show graceful ease. 

The weight of the body supported on the retired foot 
denotes dignity, dislike, or carelessness ; on the ad- 
vanced foot, familiarity, attention, or sympathy. 

Separated by about the length of the foot, with the 
weight on the advanced foot, listening, appeal, or 
attack ; with the weight on the retired foot, dis- 
gust, horror, or defence ; with the weight sup- 
ported equally on both feet, pomposity or bluster. 

Frequent change denotes mental disturbance. 

Starting, sudden apprehension or violent surprise. 

Stamping, harsh authority, impatience or determina- 
tion. 



170 EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES. 

Advancing steps show energy or boldness ; retiring, 

alarm or fearfulness. 
Light tiptoe steps express caution or secret intrusion ; 

heavy, striding steps, boasting or bravado. 

III. SUMMARY OF THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF 
GESTICULATIVE EXPRESSION. 

16. Motions towards the body indicate self-esteem, 
egotism, or invitation; from the body, command or re- 
pulsion. 

Expanding gestures express liberality, distribution, ac- 
quiescence, or candour; contracting gestures, frugality, 
reserve or collection. 

Rising motions denote suspension, climax or appeal ; 
falling motions, completion, declaration, or response. 

A sudden stop in gesture expresses doubt, meditation 
or listening; a sudden movement, decision or discovery. 

A broad and sweeping range of gesture illustrates a 
general statement, or expresses boldness, freedom, and 
self-possession ; a limited range denotes diffidence or con- 
straint or illustrates a subordinate point. 

Rigidity of muscles denotes firmness, strength, or effort ; 
laxity, languor, or weakness ; slow motions are expres- 
sive of gentleness, caution, or deliberation ; quick mo- 
tions, of harshness or temerity. . 

IV. PRINCIPLES OF GRACE. 

17. The eye should generally accompany the motions 
of the hand ; but, in directing attention to any object, the 
eye will first merely glance towards it, and then fix itself 
on the person addressed, while the finger continues to 
point. 

18. The head must not lean from side to side, as the 
gesture points ; nor must it rise and fall with the inflex- 
ions of the voice ; it should be kept moderately, but not 
rigidly, erect. 

19. The motions of the arm must commence at the 
shoulder joint, not at the elbow ; the upper part of the arm 
should never rest in contact with the side. 



GRACE IN GESTURE. 171 

20. The motions of the arms should not be accompa- 
nied by any action of the shoulders, or swaying of the 
body. Thus, in projecting forward one arm, the oppo- 
site shoulder must not retire ; or in raising one arm, the 
3pposite shoulder must not be depressed. The shoulders 
should be kept square to the eye of the auditor, or to the 
centre of the auditors. The habit of shrugging the 
shoulders is ungraceful, and should be avoided. 

21. A harmonious accompaniment of arm to arm, 
is essential to graceful motion. When only one arm is 
used in the gesture, the other should be brought into 
action less prominently, and at a lower elevation. When 
the gesticulating arm comes in front of, or across the 
body, the retired arm falls a little behind ; and when the 
gesture is backwards, the subordinate arm advances. 
When the gesture is under the horizontal elevation, the 
other arm may hang laxly by the side. 

22. Every action of the arm should be terminated by 
an accentual motion of the hand, from the wrist. In 
calm and unimpassioned speaking, the accentual beat of 
the gesture will coincide with the vocal accent ; in strong 
emotion, the gesture will precede the words. The mo- 
tions of the hand must be made entirely from the wrist 
joint, which must therefore be held perfectly slack. 

23. Every accentual motion must have a preparatory 
movement in the opposite direction, more or less sweep- 
ing, according to the nature and emphasis of the accen- 
tual motion. A direct rise, fall, or lateral movement 
would be ungraceful and unnatural. As we first bend 
the body in order to leap up, and raise the hammer in 
order to strike the nail, so we must carry the hand 
towards the left, before a gesture to the right ; raise it 
before a downward motion, and vice versa. 

24. The line described by the hand in any motion must 
be a curve — except in violent passion, when the rigidity 
of the joints renders the line of motion straight and an- 
gular. The graceful curve is obtained by turning the 
hand freely upon its joint, keeping the wrist slack, and 
the elbow detached from the side. 

25. The fingers should always be somewhat apart T 



172 GRACE IN GESTURE. 

and the thumb considerably separated from the forefin- 
ger. The joints should be slack, and the fingers slightly 
bent, but not beyond a gentle curve — except for partic- 
ular expressiveness. 

26. The weight of the body should generally be sus • 
tained entirely by one foot ; and it should be shifted from 
one to the other at every change of style or of subject. 
The limb that does not support the weight of the body 
should be slightly bent, and its foot should rest lightly, 
or only partially, on the floor. 

27. Gesture is most graceful with the right hand and 
arm when the left foot is in advance, and with the left 
hand when the right foot is in front. This preserves the 
square of the body. 

28. The feet should be generally separated about as 
much as the breadth of the foot — the one in advance of 
the other, with its heel pointing to the heel of the retired 
foot. More extended positions will be occasionally re- 
quired in expressive action. The angle at which the feet 
stand should be about 75 degrees, unless in very extended 
separations, — as in longeing, — when it may be increased 
to 90 degrees. With ordinary extension, the angle of 
grace and stability cannot exceed J5 . 

29. The feet must not cross each other in any move- 
ment. Their motions should always be in outward diag- 
onal lines. A direct lateral or front extension of the feet 
would be ungraceful. Even in walking, the left foot 
must be moved towards the left, and the right towards 
the right side. 

30. In turning to one side, the body must not be twisted ; 
but the motion should commence with the feet ; and 
the feet should not be lifted from the floor. The weight 
of the body being on the forepart of the feet, a turn of 
45 may be made by merely sliding the heels round ; and 
the weight being on the heels, a turn of 90 may be made 
by sliding round the forepart of the feet. These turns 
can only be made to the side corresponding with the re- 
tired foot. Thus : — when the right foot is in front, 
turn to the left, and vice versa. In order to turn to the 
-other side, the advanced foot must first be drawn back, or 
the retired foot advanced. 



GRACE IN GESTURE. I 73 

31 . In kneeling, bring that knee to the floor first which 
is next to the spectator ; in rising, bring up the knee 
which is farthest from him. 

32. In making a bow, do not shuffle one foot back- 
wards, or jerk the head forwards, but extend one foot 
slightly to the side — the right foot to the right, or the left 
to the left — and draw (not lift) the other in the same 
direction, while you gracefully bend the body. The arms 
must not adhere to the side, but depend freely from the 
shoulders, limber as ropes. 

33. In standing before a bar, or rail, or in a pulpit, 
do not lounge on the frame, or even keep the hand on it 
habitually ; but stand back sufficiently far to allow the 
arm to rise and fall without touching the rail. 

34. In holding a book, endeavour to do so with one 
hand — generally the left ; but if the volume is too large 
for one hand, let both hands sustain it equally by the 
corners. In either case, let the plane of the book be as 
nearly as possible horizontal — and do not hold it up be- 
tween your face and your auditor's line of vision. 

35. In sitting, do not draw the feet backwards under 
the chair, but advance them, and keep the soles on the 
floor, with as much variety of position as may be consist- 
ent with grace and with the subject in hand. 



V. RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE HAND AND ARM 
IN MOTION. 

36. The following illustrations exemplify a Principle 
of the utmost simplicity and comprehensiveness ; one 
which in fact includes all that can be needed to secure 
mechanical excellence in any movements of Hand and 
Arm. The Principle is : — The Hand invariably 
points in the opposite direction to that of the 
Arm's motion. 

37. The Hand, in rising or falling, must be al- 
ways in one of two positions ; namely, with the edge,, 
or with the flat presented to the eye of the spectator. 
Thus : — 



i74 



GRACE IN GESTURE, 



No. I. 
Arm rising — Hand hangs downward. 





Edge presented. 



Flat presented. 



No. II. 
Arm falling — Hand points upwards. 





Edge presented. 



Flat presented. 



GRACE IX GESTURE. 



175 



38. Any movement to right or left with the hand on 
edge is ungraceful ; therefore : — The hand, in moving to 
right or left, must always have either the falm or 
the back turned upwards. Thus : — 

No. III. 
Arm moving to right — Hand points to left. 





Palm upwards. Back upwards. 

No. IV. 

Arm moving to left — Hand points to right. 





Palm upwards. 



Bazk upwards. 



39. The principle exemplified in these illustrations 
should be practised until its application becomes a habit 
and requires no thought. The student is recommended, 
at first, to divide each motion into two parts — stopping 
at the end of the arm's motion before commencing that 
of the hand. Thus : — 



~r 



1. 

No. 



Rising Motion. 

Raise arm from position No. 1 towards position 
2, while the hand remains pendent as in No. 1. 
Raise hand into position No. 2. 



176 APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 

Fa lit fig- Motio7i. 

i. Depress arm from position No. 2 towards position 
No. 1, while the hand continues to point upward. 
2. Bring hand into position No. 1. 

Motion to Right. 

i. Move arm from position No. 3 towards position 
No. 4, while the hand continues pointing to left. 
2. Move hand into position No. 4. 

Motion to Left. 

1. Move arm from position No. 4 towards position 
No. 3, while the hand continues pointing to right. 

2. Move hand into position No. 3. 

40. After a few repetitions of these exercises, the 
knack will be acquired of moving arm and hand sep- 
arately — which is the essence of the Principle. The 
whole of each movement should then be performed with- 
out a break. Practise w T ith each hand, alternately, and 
with both hands, simultaneously, until facility is attained. 

VI. APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 

41. Inexpressive motions should always be avoided. 
No gesture should be made without a reason for it ; and 
when any position has been assumed, there should be no 
change from it without a reason. The habit of allowing 
the hands to fall to the side immediately after every 
gesture, produces an ungracefully restless effect. The 
speaker seems 

" Awkward, embarrassed, stiff, without the skill 
Of moving gracefully, or standing still. — 
Blessed with all other requisites to please, 
He wants the striking elegance of ease." 

42. A speaker must not be constantly in motion * 
Repose is a chief element of gesticulative effect. Some 
orators accompany every vocal accent by a bodily mo- 
tion ; but the consequence is, that, gesticulate ever so 
well, and be energetic as they may, they can produce no 
effect — but that of mesmeric drowsiness. The monoto- 
nous manipulations fatigue the eye, and rock the brain to 



APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 1 77 

slumber. A gesture that illustrates nothing is worse than 
useless. It destroys the effect of really appropriate move- 
ments. Perhaps the most difficult part of gesture is 
gracefully to stand still. Let the speaker study this. 

43. The frequency of gesture will depend on the 
variety of ideas and moods that occur in the language. 
A uniform strain will require little gesture ; and a vari- 
able, flighty, passionate strain will demand many gestures. 

44. Gestures should not be used to picture ideas 
which are sufficiently expressed — or implied — in lan- 
guage. For example : — 

" The moon was shining bright and high, 
The torches gleamed below." 

<: Cannon to right of them, 
Cannon to left of them, 
Cannon in front of them 

Volleyed and thundered." ( 

In these cases, the relations of "high," "low," "right," 
" left," &c, are fully understood from the utterance of 
the words, and gestic illustration of the same facts would 
be tautology. 

45. Gestures are either Directive, Illustrative, or 
Emotive. Directive gestures carry the eye of the 
spectator to the objects spoken of, which are either visi- 
ble, supposed to be visible, or figuratively presented to 
the "mind's eye." Directive gestures are most appro- 
priate with language in the present tense. They are nec- 
essary when the demonstrative words, Lot yon, this, 
that, behold I &c, are used. 

46. Directive gestures must be arranged with pictorial 
accuracy. Thus, the hand and eye must be elevated in 
pointing to the firmament, to mountains, and to near 
objects above the speaker ; and depressed below the hori- 
zontal elevation for rivers, and for near objects below 
the level of the speaker's eye. They must be horizontal 
in addressing persons around us, and in pointing to ob- 
jects at a distance. 

47. Directive gestures must be "suited" to the lan- 
guage. Thus, in the following lines : — 

" 'Tis morn but scarce yon level sun 

Can pierce the war-clouds rolling dun, " &c. 
12 



Q ( 

178 APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 

" The sun has almost reached his journey's close," &c. 

we must not point upwards to the sun ; for at " morn," 
and at his "journey's close," the sun must be near the 
horizon. Thus, too, in the following : — 

" His setting ushers-in a night to some, 
Which morning shall not break." 

Suppose the setting sun located on the speaker's right, 
then "night" must be ushered in from his left; and 
" morning " must not " break " on the right, but — op- 
posite to where the sun set, — on the left. 

48. Having located any fixed object by a directive ges- 
ture, we must recur to the same point in again speaking 
of it, or of any object associated with it without change 
of scene. Thus in the following lines : 

" Scaling yonder peak, 
I saw an eagle wheeling near its brow 
O'er the abyss ; — his broad, expanded wings 
Lay calm and motionless upon the air, 
As if he floated there without their aid, 
By the sole act of his unlorded will 
That buoyed him proudly up. Instinctively 
I bent my bow," &c. 

If the " peak" be supposed on the speaker's left side, 
the action of bending the bow must not be directed to 
the right, but — towards the peak — to the left. 

49. Illustrative gestures must be "suited" to the 
idea or action they illustrate. Thus in the following 
lines : — 

" By torch and trumpet-sound arrayed, 
Each horseman drew his battle blade, 
And furious every charger neighed 
To join the dreadful revelry ;" 

the idea " arrayed " should be illustrated by a slow, hor- 
izontal expansion of the arm, the hand flat and pointing 
outwards, as if to the serried rank of soldiers ; at the 
words " drew his battle blade," there may be an imita- 
tive action, but if indulged in it must be correctly imitative ; 
the right arm, in drawing the sword, must not be curved 
backwards across the body, but drawn straight up, as 
if it had a yard of steel behind it. The hand must be re- 



APPLICATION OF GESTURE. I/O, 

versed in taking hold of the hilt, and turned round when 
the act of drawing the blade is completed, as if to elevate 
the point in the air. The left hand — the ;i horseman's" 
bridle-hand, — must take no part in the action. In draw- 
ing an i?zfantry-sv?or& the left hand grasps the scabbard ; 
"but a cavalry-sword has a heavy scabbard to resist the 
pull. 

50. Shakespeare's admirable compendium of the 
principles of gestic application — 

(i Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this 
special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature !" 

must not be so interpreted as to lead the speaker to aim 
at illustrating individual words. " To the word," 
must be understood to mean, '-to the utterance." 
The sort of imitative gesture, in which many orators in- 
dulge at the mere mention of any word which is suscep- 
tible of imitative illustration, is to be condemned, and 
must not be allowed to plead a misinterpretation of Shake- 
speare's rule as a justifying authority. Some speakers 
carry the principle of suiting the action to the " word" 
so far, that, if they would not imitate the sounding of a 
trumpet, and the neighing of a charger, in the lines 
quoted in the last paragraph, they do perform actions 
equally ridiculous in every sentence of their oratory. 

51. Emotive Expression will be, in a greater or less 
degree, associated with all Gesticulation. The 
speaker's feelings, with respect to the object spoken of. 
should invariably find expression in his delivery. If the 
orator is thoroughly conversant with the expressiveness 
of the different varieties of gesture, and well exercised in 
the mechanical principles of graceful motion, he may 
trust to the spontaneous development of Emotive Gesture 
in his delivery, without fear of its being inappropriate. 

52. All the parts of the body must blend in harmo- 
nious accompaniment to the Gesticulating member. Is- 
olated motions are ungraceful and unnatural. The im- 
pulse that moves the hand will not be unfelt by every 
muscle in the frame. If gesture were practised merely 
as a mechanical art, this united expression might not be 
attained ; but the Mechanics of Action should be studied 



i8o 



APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 



chiefly for the sake of grace, and as a means to keep in 
check the energy that might else run wild. For 

" In the very tempest, torrent and. as I may say, whirlwind of 
your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may 
give it smoothness." 

A speaker who loses command over himself either in 
language, intonation, or gesture, must not be surprised if 
he preserve none over his audience. 

53. Gestures may be divided into Colloquial and 
Oratorical. The difference between the two classes 
arises only from the comparative proximity or distance of 
speaker and hearer. In the former class the arm is bent, 
and held near the side, — although not in contact with it,, 
and the action is chiefly confined to the hand; in the 
latter class, the arm — the "oratorical weapon," — is fully 
unfolded, advanced from the body, and moved directly 
from the shoulder. 

54. With reference to the application of Gesture, the 
following is a grand precept : — 

" To this one standard make your just appeal, 
Here lies the golden secret, — Learn to feel!" 

VII. EXAMPLES OF THE APPLICATION OF GESTURE, 

55. The following Examples are added as Illustrations 
of the mode of applying Gesture. The aim of the pre- 
scribed actions is simply to realize the scene. This in- 
deed is the principle of all oratorical action. The Shake- 
sperian precept, " Suit the action to the word," being — 
as we have shown — liable to a serious misapplication, its 
true meaning will be unambiguously conveyed by the 
equally laconic direction, Realize the scene. 

LOCHINVAR. Scott. 

I. 2 young Lochinvar is come out of the west ! Through all 
the wide Border his steed was the best ; and, save his good broad- 
sword, he weapon had none ; he rode all unarmed, and he rode 
all alone ! So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, there 
never was knight like the young Lochinvar! 

' 2 He staid not for brake, and he stopped not for stone ; he swam 
the Esk river where ford there was none ; — but, s ere he alighted at 
Netherby gate, the bride had consented ! — the gallant came late : 



APPLICATION OF GESTURE. l8l 

for 4 a laggard in love, and a dastard in war, was to wed s the fair 
Ellen of brave Lochinvar! 

G So boldly he entered the Netherby Hall, 7 'mong bride's-men, 
and kinsmen, and brothers, and all: II. 'Then spoke the bride's 
father, his hand on his sword — Tor the poor, craven bridegroom 
said never a word — 9 " O, come ye in peace here, or come ye in 
war? — 10 or to dance at our bridal, — young Lord Lochinvar?" 

11 " I long wooed your daughter, my suit you denied: love 
swells like the Solway, but 12 ebbs like its tide ! And now am 
I come, "with this lost love of mine, to lead but one measure, 
drink one cup of wine ! — There are maidens in Scotland "more 
lovely by far, 6 that would gladly be bride to the young Lochin- 
var !" i5 

10 The bride kissed the goblet ! the knight took it up ; he quaffed 
off the wine, and he threw down the cup ! She looked down to 
blush, and she looked up to sigh — with a smile on her lip, and a 
tear in her eye. 17 He took her soft hand, ™ere her mother could 
bar, — 8 " Now tread we a measure !" I9 said young Lochinvar. 

20 So stately his form, and so lovely her face, that never a hall 
such a galliard did grace ! While her mother 2J did fret, and her 
father 22 did fume, 23 and the bridegroom stood 24 dangling his bon- 
net and plume; 25 and the bride-maidens whispered, 26 " 'Twere 
better by far to have matched our fair cousin with 27 young Loch- 
invar !" 

28 One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear, when they 
reached 29 the hall-door, 30 and the charger stood near ; — 31 so light 
to the croupe the fair lady he swung, so light to the saddle before 
her he sprung! 32 " She is won ! 33 we are gone, over bank, bush, 
and scaur! they'll have 33 fleet steeds that follow!" 19 quoth young 
Lochinvar. 

34 There was mounting 'mong Graemes of the Netherby clan; 
Fosters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran; 
there was racing and chasing 35 on Cannobie Lea — but the lost 
bride of Netherby ne'er did they see. 36 So daring in love, and 
so dauntless in war, 37 have ye e'er heard of gallant 3e like young 
Lochinvar ? 39 

Pictorial Arrangement. — I. Lochinvar on the left— Netherby on the right. II. 
The father on Lochinvar's right— the bridegroom on the left — the bride and 
the mother in front. 
Details of action, &*c. — l Looldng with admiration to left alternately with speak- 
ing to front. 2 energetic tone with accentual swaying of the head. 3 quiet under- 
tone to front — indicating the position of Netherby by a motion of the head to the 
right. 4 strong tone of denunciation. 6 clasping the hands, or otherwise express- 
ing disappointment and determination. 6 to right. 7 alternately to left and right. 
8 to left. 9 turn and speak to left. 10 with mocking courtesy, "turn and speak to 
Tight, "pointing to the breast, "carelessly tossing the head to left. 14 looking 
-askance to left. 15 a oontemptuous nod, then turn to left. 16 look to left alter- 
nately with speaking to front, as if describing to the audience what is taking place. 
17 turning to left : nd extending left hand, "looking smilingly to right. 19 to front, 
'•^stepping backwards, as if to make room, and carrying the eye from left to right, 
as if following the motion of the dancers, "imitative sound of vexation, "pant- 
ing with anger, and grasping the scabbard with left hand, while repeatedly opening 
and closing the right hand, "pointing with the thumb to the left, and looking in 



1 82 APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 

the opposite direction. 24 imitative — supporting the right arm in the left hand and 
dangling the right hand from the wrist, keeping time to the action with a motion 
of the head. 25 pointingand looking to front with face averted, "applying the back 
of right hand to the left corner of the mouth, and speaking in an undertone, ^in- 
dicating his position by looking askance to left, and nodding the head in that di- 
rection. 28 speaking to front in a semi-whisper 29 pointing and looking askance 
to left. 30 to front with look of eager surprise. 31 quick utterance in undertone pro- 
gressively intensified. 32 loud tone, with action as if drawing the bridle in the left 
hand, "backward action of right hand, as if urging the steed with a whip. 34 in- 
dicate commotion on all sides by alternately moving the right hand to the right and 
the left hand to the left. 36 both hands pointing to front. 36 looking to front and 
pointing left hand to left. 37 right hand extended open to front. 38 both hands 
pointing to left. 39 bow. 

hamlet's meditation on death. — Shakespeare. 

J To be, or not to be ? 2 that 3 is the question : 4 whether 'tis nobler 
in the mind to suffer the stings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 
or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, 6 end 
them ; 6 — To die ? — 2 to sleep— no more ; — and, by a sleep, to say we 
end the heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is 
heir to — 'tis a consummation 7 devoutly to be wished. 8 Todie? 
— 2 to sleep : — 9 to sleep ? — 10 perchance to dream — 3 Ay, 2 there's the 
rub ! For u in that sleep of death 12 what dreams may come, when 
we have shuffled off this mortal coil , 3 must give us pause ; "there's 
the respect that makes calamity of so long life : 6 for who would 
bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressor's wrong, the 
proud man's contumely, the pangs of despised love, the law's 
delay, the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit, 
of the unworthy takes, when 14 he himself might his quietus make 
with a bare 15 bodkin ? 8 Who would fardels bear, to groan and 
sweat under a weary life ; but that the dread of something 16 after 
death — 3 that undiscovered country, from whose bourn no travel- 
ler returns — 2 puzzles the will, and makes us 17 rather bear those 
ills we have, 1B than fly to others 39 that we know not of? 6 Thus 
conscience does make cowards of us all ; and thus the native hue 
of resolution is 20 sicklied o'er with the pale cast of 21 thought, and 
enterprises of great pith and moment; 16 with this regard, their 
currents turn awry, 22 and lose 23 the name 6 of action. 24 

1 Standing for some seconds before speaking, with the right elbow supported in 
the left hand, the forefinger and thumb of the right hand supporting the chin, — or 
in any attitude of meditation — with the eyes fixed on vacancy. 2 an accentual nod 
of the head. 3 shaking the head. 4 letting the right hand fall on the left arm. 
5 extend the arms with the accent — palms downwards. 6 rest. 7 look upwards 
with desire. 8 meditative attitude — the arms extended downward — palms down- 
wards and fingers interlaced, the head lying to one side. 9 head quickly erected. 
10 looking uneasily forward, with raised eyebrows and open mouth, "head de- 
pressed, eyes raised. 12 raising the head progressively. 13 pointing demonstra- 
tively upwards. 14 extending the right hand in front. ls an accentual stroke of the 
right hand towards the left side, as if pointing to a dagger or sword. 16 slowly rais- 
ing the head and eyes. 17 extending both arms — hands open. 18 turning the hands 
round and elevating them from the wrist. 19 raising the arms to the level of the 
head, and dropping them to rest with an accentual sigh. 20 moving the right hand 
to and fro in front — palm downward. 21 throwing out the right hand obliquely, and 
shaking the head, "extending both arms and raising the hands — palm outward.. 
23 a gentle accentual stroke of the hands forwards. 24 bow. 



APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 1 83 

the death of marmion. — Sir Walter Scott. 

(I.) 1 With fruitless labour, Clara bound, 2 and strove to staunch, 
the gushing wound : 3 the monk, 4 with unavailing cares, Ex- 
hausted all the Church's prayers ; fi Ever, he said, that, 7 close 
and near, a lady's voice was in his ear, and that the priest* he 
could not hear, for that she ever sung— 9 " In the lost battle, 
borne down by the flying, where mingles war's rattle, with 
groans !0 of the dying!" J1 so the notes rung. 

""Avoid thee^ Fiend!— with cruel hand, shake not the dying 
sinner's sand! 13 Oh, look, my son, upon yon sign of the Re- 
deemer's grace divine! "oh, think on faith, and bliss! 15 By 
many a death-bed I have been, and many a sinner's parting 
seem but never aught 16 like this." 

(II.) 17 The war, that for a space did fail, now trebly thundering, 
swell'd the gale, and I8 " Stanley !" was the cry : 19 A light on Mar- 
mion's visage spread, and fir'd his glazing eye ; with dying hand, 
above his head he shook the fragment of his blade, and shouted, 
20 " Victory! 2, Charge ! Chester !— Charge! 22 On ! Stanley! on!" 23 
24 were the last words of Marmion. 25 

Pictorial Arrangement. — I. Marmion lying on the ground in the centre — facing 
the speaker — Clara kneeling by his side to the right — the monk standing be- 
side him, to the left. II. The battlefield to the extreme left. 

Details of action, &*c. — 1 Pointing downwards with right forefinger to Clara, on 
right of centre. : open the hand. 3 pointing horizontally with left forefinger to left 
of centre. 4 raising the hand and looking downwards sympathetically to centre. 
6 the hand falling to rest with the accent — the head shaking. 6 pointing downwards 
to centre with right hand. 7 the eyes fixed on vacancy. s shaking the head. 9 slow 
utterance — muffled voice — listening attitude. 10 feebly nodding the head, "look- 
ing around at the audience. 12 the left arm extended in front — palm downward — 
as if shielding the prostrate man; the right arm extended backward — the palm 
outward — as in repulsion. 13 looking to Marmion and raising the right forefinger. 
14 clasping the hands. 15 averting the head — to right. 16 drawing back the head 
and looking fearfully askance at Marmion. 17 look suddenly with raised eyebrows 
to the extreme left. 18 pointing with left hand in the same direction. 19 pointing 
abruptly with right hand to Marmion. 20 with the action previously described — 
shaking the sword. 21 the left hand downwards as if supporting the body — panting 
utterance. 22 raise both hands eagerly. 23 drop both arms suddenly — rest — 24 point 
with both hands to Marmion, and shake the head mournfully while speaking. 
25 bow. 

AN ORATOR'S FIRST SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT. — Alex. Bell. 

2 The virgin Member 2 takes his honoured place, Hvhile beams 
of modest wisdom light his face : multum in parvo in the man 
you see ; he represents — 3 the people's majesty ! behold their 
choice ! the pledged, 'midst many a cheer, to give free 4 trade ! 
8 free votes! Tree bread and beer! Blest times! — 7 He sits at 
last within the walls of famed St. Stephen's venerated halls ! 
b O, shades of Pitt and Fox ! 7 is he within the House of Commons ? 
9 How his senses spin ! Proud man ! "has he then caught the 
Speaker's eye? "no, not just yet — but he will, by-and-by. 7 I 
wonder if there are reporters here? 12 Ay, that there are, and 
hard at work they appear. 13 happy man ! By the next post 
shall reach your loved constituents, "the maiden speech ! The 
Press (great tell tale !) will to all reveal, 15 how you have — spoken 



184 



APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 



for your Country's weal ! In gaping wonder will the words be 
read, 14 " The new M. P., Lord Noodle, rose, and said." 

This pillar of "ten-pounders" rises now, and towards the 
Speaker IG makes profoundest bow. "Unused to so much honour, 
his weak knees bend with the weight of senate-dignities. J *He 
staggers — almost falls — stares — 16 strokes his chin — clears out 
his throat, and ventures to begin. 19 " Sir, lam sensible" 20 (some 
titter near him) — 19 "I am, Sir, sensible" 2J " Hear, hear!" 22 (thev 
cheer him !) 23 Now bolder grown, for praise mistaking pother, 
€ tea-pots one arm, and spouts out with the other. " I am, Sir, 
sensible — I am, indeed — that, though — I should — want— words — 
2 T must proceed ; and, for the first time in my life 25 I think— I 
think — that— no great orator— 26 should shrink:— and, therefore, 
— Mr. Speaker — I for one— 27 will speak out freely. 2H Sir— I've not 
yet done. 29 Sir, in the name of those enlightened men who sent 
me here to 30 speak for them — why then, to do my duty — as I said 
before — to my constituency — "I'll say no more." 

Pictorial Arrangetnent. — The House of Commons. The " Virgin Member" on 
the right — the "Speaker" in front — reporters' gallery to left of centre — the 
interrupting members on the left side. 
Details of action, &>c. — 1 Look and point with right forefinger to the "virgin 
member," then speak to front. 2 open the hand. 3 expand both arms. 4 upward 
wave to right. 6 upward wave to left. 6 a confidential communication — the hand 
covering the mouth. 7 look around with pride. 8 clasping the hands. 9 hand on 
forehead. 10 a quiet undertone to front, "look to right and centre, and right again 
before speaking. 12 look upwards to left. 13 swaying the head rapturously. 
14 point with the open right hand as if at a paper in the left hand. 16 point to the 
speech with the right forefinger. 16 imitative. 17 point to right, and speak to front 
jocularly. 18 look to right before speaking to front. 19 to centre, with obeisance. 
20 look annoyed to left side, then speak smilingly to front. ai look amused to left. 
3a point to left, and speak mirthfully to front. 23 look archly to front. 24 look with 
a contemptuous shrug to left before speaking. 25 look bewildered and glance with 
an air of annoyance to left before speaking. 26 frowning to left. 27 with a deter- 
mined side jerk of the head. 28 look to left with an air of triumph, then speak to 
front. 29 proudly. 30 hesitating. 31 look disconcertedly to left, then speak lugu- 
briously. 

rustic logic. — Anonymous. 

(I.) ^odge, a poor honest country lout, not over-stocked with 
learning, chanced on a summer's eve 2 to meet the Vicar, home 
returning. 3 " Ah ! Master Hodge," the Vicar cried, " what, still 
as wise as ever? 4 the people in the village say that you are won- 
drous clever." 5 " Why, Measter Parson, as to that I beg you'll 
right conceive me. 6 I do na brag, but yet 7 I knaw a thing or two, 
believe me." 3 " We'll try your skill," 8 the Parson cried, 9 " for 
learning what digestion : and this you'll prove or right or wrong, 
by solving me a question. 20 Noah, of old, three babies had, or 
grown-up children rather; "Shem, Ham, and Japhet they were 
called; — now 12 who was Japhet's father?" 

13 " Rat it!" cried Hodge, and scratched his head; " that does 
my wits belabour : but howsomde'er I'll "homeward run, and ax 
old Giles my neighbour." 

15 To Giles he went, and put the case with circumspect inten- 
tion : (II.) lfi " Thou fool," cried Giles, " I'll make it clear to thy 



NOTATION OF GESTURE. I S$ 

dull comprehension. Three children has Tom Long, the smith, 
or cattle-doctor rather; Tom, Dick, and Harry, they are called; 
"now, who is Harry's father?" 

1T "Adzooks, I have it," Hodge replied, "right well I know 
jour lingo; who's Harry's father? 16 — stop — 1T here goes, — why 
Tom Long, smith, by jingo." 

(III. ) "Away he ran to find the priest, with all his might and 
main ; who with good humour instant put the question once again. 
10 "Noah, of old, three babies had, or grown-up children rather; 
n Shem, Ham, and Japhet they were called : now 20 who was 
Japhet's father?'' 

ai "I have it now," 22 Hodge grinning cried, 23 " I'll answer like 
a proctor: 24 who's Japhet's father? 25 now I know; why, Long 
Tom, smith, the doctor." 26 

Pictorial Arrangement. — I. Hodge coming from left meets the Vicar coming from 
right. II. Giles stands on Hodge's right. III. Hodge runs towards the 
Vicar on the right. 
Details of action, &C. — 1 Look and point to left, then speak to front. 2 giving 
a rustic salute to right. 3 turn and speak to left with raised eyebrows. 4 pout the 
lips, depress the eyebrows, and shake the head. 5 turn and speak smilingly to 
right. 6 with raised eyebrows. 7 smiling and jerking the head to one side. 8 speak 
to front without turning the body. 9 speak to left. 10 very deliberately, "striking 
the thumb, fore and middle fingers of left hand with right forefinger, in pronoun- 
cing the names. 12 repeating the last stroke and accentually nodding the head. 
13 turn and speak to right with puzzled expression and "scratching" action. 
14 point backwards over the shoulder with the thumb of left hand, "pointing to 
left, and speaking amusedly to front. 16 to left with knitted brow and giving Hodge 
a dig with the thumb. 17 slapping the leg or otherwise expressing vulgar triumph. 
18 chuckle, then change to a wandering silent look of serious stupidity. 19 point to 
right, and speak smilingly to front. 20 repeatedly strike the middle finger while 
speaking, 21 chuckling and rubbing the legs, or otherwise expressing vulgar delight. 
22 jerk the head to one side triumphantly, then speak to front. 23 panting, as if 
from quick running. 24 with the head lying knowingly to one side. 25 with a nod 
of pride. 26 a chuckle of self satisfaction suddenly changed to a look of puzzled 
disappointment — then look to the audience while you point laughingly to Hodge, 
and make your bow. 

VIII. NOTATION OF GESTURE. 

56. A system of Notation for Attitude and Motion is 
presented in the following pages. By this means a 
speaker can record for practice any position or movement 
which, in Oratory, in Painting, or in Sculpture, strikes 
him as effective. By this, also, an artist can jot for re- 
production any attitude of which he may have obtained 
a momentary glimpse. To teachers of Gesture the sys- 
tem of Notation will be of great service, in furnishing a 
nomenclature for the mechanics of action ; and to stu- 
dents it will be found of considerable assistance in the ac- 
quisition of variety and precision of movement. 

57* Positions of the Feet. 

The following diagram illustrates the positions and 
shifts of the feet : — 



i86 



NOTATION OF GESTURE. 

A 




Explanation. 

No. I. A turn on the ball of the foot from the position 
indicated by the black feet. 

No. 2. A turn on the heel from the same position. 

No. 3. Preparatory shift for turning to the opposite 
side. 

58. When the right foot is in front, these turns can 
only be made to the left ; and when the left foot is in 
front the turns can only be made to the right. A circle 
may be traversed, as an exercise, by shifting one foot 
after each turn. The circle will be completed in four 
turns on the heel, or eight turns on the ball of the foot. 

When the feet are separated by the breadth of a foot 
the positions are noted : 

Left foot in front. 
L 1 

R 2 L 2 

When the feet are separated by the length of a foot 
the positions are noted : — 

R3 L 3 

R 4 L 4 

When the feet are more widely separated the positions 
are noted : — 

R 6 L 6 

In these notations the weight of the body is on the 
retired foot for the odd numbers (1, 3, 5) and on the ad- 
vanced foot for the even numbers (2, 4, 6) . 



Right foot in front. 
R 1 



NOTATION OF GESTURE. 



Vertical and Transverse Motions of the Arms. 



l8f 



59. Either arm may move with grace to the extent of 
a semi-circle, both vertically and horizontally. For 
notation, five points are selected — the extremities of 
the semi-circle, the middle, and a point intermediate to 
the middle and each extreme. 

60. The extremities of the vertical semi-circle are the 
zenith and the nadir (marked z and n) ; the middle 
point is the horizontal (h) ; and the other intermediate 
points are : — elevated half-way to the zenith (e) , and 
downwards half-way to the nadir (d) . When the arm 
hangs at rest, it is of course directed to the nadir. The 
notation N is used to distinguish the rest position from 
the gesture, n. 

61. The extremities of the tra7isverse semi-circle 
are : — the arm across the body ( c), and backward about 30 
degrees (b) : the other points are : — the arm extended in 
a line with the shoulders (x) ; projected in front of the 
body (f ) , and directed obliquely between the front and 
the extended positions (q). The diagram illustrates 
these notations : 




1 88 NOTATION OF GESTURE 

Graceful and Passionate Transitions. 

62. Gestures would be disagreeably angular if the most 
direct line of transition from point to point were fol- 
lowed by the arms. A preparatory movement is there- 
fore made, in the opposite direction, before any impor- 
tant gesture. 

63. In unimpassioned delivery the preparatory move- 
ment may be sweeping and varied, for graceful effect. 

64. In strong passion the preparatory movement will 
be direct and simple, but extensive, and the lines of the 
accentual gesture bold and straight. 

IX. GENERAL SCHEME OF NOTATION FOR ATTI- 
TUDE AND MOTION. 

65* I« Tke Feet, Lower Limbs, and Trunk. 

(Notation placed below the line). 

L 6. 1 } See P- l86 - 

-[-...standing with one 
foot across the other 

up. ..body drawn up, 
as in pride 

dn...body sunk down, 
as in languor 

Note. — I. The right foot is in front for the R series, and the left, for the L se- 
ries. The weight of the body rests on the foot in front for all the even numbers, 
and on the retired foot for the odd numbers. 

II. A small number should be prefixed to the notation for advancing, retiring, 
stepping to the right, or to the left, when more than one step is to be made. Thus 
2 ad, advancing two steps, 3 re, retiring three steps. 

66. The Arms. 

(All the subsequent notations placed above the line.) 
z ...pointing to the zenith c. .directed across the body 

e... elevated 45 above the horizon f ... " forwards 
h... horizontal q... " obliquely45°fromf 

d,. .downwards 45 ° below the x... extended in the line of the 

horizon shoulders 

n... pointing to the nadir b... directed backwards 

N (nadir) . the arm hanging at rest. 



R 


1; R 2; R 3; R 4; R 5; 


L 


1; L 2; L 3; L 4; L 5; 


ad. 


..advancing sh .. shaking 


re. 


..retiring wk.. .walking 


r... 


..stepping to right kn.. kneeling 


1..., 


..stepping to left bw... bowing 


St.. 


..starting crt... curtseying 


sp. 


..stamping 



pp preparatory movement de descending 

con. ..the arm contracted r moving to the right 

«xp... " " expanded 1 moving to the left 

as ... .ascending pj the arm projected 



NOTATION OF GESTURE. I< 

bk the arm drawn back wv — waving 

rb ....rebound from any position w lying close to the waist 

to the same again si slow motion 

dr the arms drooping qk quick motion 

fd the arms folded ^-^(or oc) over curve 

kim...a kimbo - — '(or ucj under curve 

shr.... shrinking ouc or uoc... serpentine 

tr tremulous 



6 7 . 



in.- 



-The Hands. 






sh.. 


..shaking 






) ch.. 


..clinched 






is) str. 


.striking 






gr- 


.grasping 






in.. 


.moved inwards, 
tation 


as in ] 


nvi- 


ou.. 


..moved outwards (from 


the 




wrist) 







nt ...naturally opened 

s supine, (palm upwards) 

p prone, (palm downwards) 

o palm outwards 

i palm inwards 

v raised vertically 

do... turned downwards 
ix.... indexing or pointing 
rv ...hands revolving 



ap ...both hands applied palm to pal. ..striking the left palm with 

palm the right forefinger or hand 

tip.. .fingers of both hands cr — hands crossed 

spread and applied tip to tip cl — hands clasped 

en. ..enumerating (the right wr.... hands wrung 

forefinger touching succes- clp.. .clapping 

sively the left finger tips) 

Note. — I. When the left hand or arm is meant, a line is prefixed 10 the sym- 
bolic letter. Thus: — d q signifies LEFT HAND, down-wards , oblique. 

II. A colon is placed between any two sets of letters that refer to the different 
hands. Thus — d q : z, signifies LEFT HAND, downwards , oblique , and RIGHT 
HAND pointing to the zenith; dq: — N signifies RIGHT HAND dowmuards, 
oblique, LEFT HAND falling to rest. The several symbols are separated from 
each other by spaces or points. 

III. A small 2 prefixed to the notation will indicate that both hands perform 
the same motion. 

IV. Alternation is denoted by the letter a. A number prefixed shows how rften 
the alternation is repeated. Thus h c^~q 2 a, signifies right hand horizontal, 
across the body, whence ov£rcurved to the oblique position ; — the left hand alter- 
nately with tke right , performing the same motion twice to the opposite side. 
The notation a a may be used for again and again. 

V. Imitative gestures are expressed by the general symbol im. 

68. IV. — Parts of the Body on -which the Hands may be jblaced^ 

Ck....hand supporting cheek 
Cn ... " " chin 

Br — " on breast 
Bbr... " beating the breast 
Bk.... " behind the back 

Li finger on lip 

Note. — A small 2 prefixed to either of these will denote both hands. Thus : — 

2 Ey signifies both hands on the eyes; a Bk, both Itands behind the back. 



He. 


.hand on head 


Fo.. 


. •' forehead 


Te.. 


. " temple 


Ky.. 


.. " eyes 


Mo. 


" mouth 



19° NOTATION OF GESTURE. 

69. Y.—The Head and Face. 

B head thrown back Ts head tossing 

Cr " crouched Sh ... " shaking 

I " inclined to one side Nd... " nodding 

II " " to left Av... " averted from the di- 

Ir " " to right rection of the gesture 

H " hanging down Sm.. a smiling countenance 

Fr frowning F eyes looking in front 

Lu.... lugubrious Ar... " around 

Lau... laughing As... " askance 

Lf..... eyebrows lifted St.... staring 

Dp.... " depressed We. ..weeping 

Kn ... " knitted Wi... winking 

R eyes looking to the right V eyes fixed on vacancy 

L " " left CI... " closed 

U " "upwards Mr... " measuring (See par. 5) 

D " " downwards No... nostrils turned up 

Pt lips pouted O.... mouth open 

Bt " bitten Gn... teeth gnashed 

Cp.... " compressed 

X. ORDER OF SYMBOLIC ARRANGEMENT. 

70. The symbolic letters being in all cases different, no 
confusion could arise whatever order of notation might 
be adopted ; but when several letters have to be em- 
ployed, the following order should be observed, as more 
convenient than a random arrangement. 

71. Place Jirst the notation of the vertical situation of 
the arm (z e h d n) ; then of its transverse direction 
(c f q x b) ; next of the manner of presentation or mo- 
tion of the hand; and the other symbols in the most con- 
venient order. 

72. The notations of the " Parts of the Body on which 
the Hands may be placed," and of the Expressions of 
the " Head and Face," are in Capital letters ; all the 
others (written above the line) are in small letters. 

73. The compound symbols will be easily remembered, 
as they generally suggest at once the words of which they 
are contractions ; but the single letters directly tax the 
memory. For convenience of reference, all the symbols 
written above the line are collected in the following 

Recapitulative Table of Symbolic Letters: 

a alternation ad advancing 

aa again and again ap applied 



NOTATION OF GESTURE. 



I 9 I 



as ascending 

b .......backward 

bk drawn back 

bw bowing 

c across 

ch clinched 

cl clasped 

clp clapping 

con.... contracted 

cr crossed 

crt ..curtseying 

d downward 

de descending 

dn sunk down 

do turned downwards 

dr drooping 

e elevated 

en enumerating 

exp... .expanded 

f forward 

fd folded 

gr grasping 

h horizontal 

i inward 

in moved inwards 

ix indexing 

kim....a kimbo 

kn kneeling 

1 to left 

n to nadir 

nt naturally 

o outward 

Ar looking around 

As " askance 

Av eyes averted 

B head back 

Bbr ...beating breast 

Bk hands behind back 

Br " on breast 

Bt biting lips 

Ck hand on cheek 

Cl eyes closed 

Cn hand on chin 

Cp lips compressed 

Cr head crouched 

D eyes down 

Dp eyebrows depressed 

Ey ....hand on eyes 



oc over-curve 

ou moved outwards 

ouc....over and under-curve 

p prone 

pal — striking palm 

pj projected 

pp preparatory 

q oblique 

qk quick 

r to right 

rb rebound 

rv revolving 

s supine 

sh shaking 

shr — shrinking 

si slow 

sp stamping 

st starting 

str striking 

tip tip to tip 

tr tremulous 

uc under-curve 

uoc ...under and over-curve 

up drawn up 

v vertical 

w to waist 

wk walking 

wr wringing 

wv ... .waving 

x extended 

z zenith 

F looking in front 

Fo hand on forehead 

Fr frowning 

Gn gnashing teeth 

H head hanging 

He hand on head 

I head inclined 

II " " to left 

Ir head inclined to right 

Rji...,. brows knitted 

L looking to left 

Lau ...laughing 

Li f..... eyebrows lifted 

Li hand on lip 

Lu ....lugubrious 
Mo ....hand on mouth 



I92 NOTATION OF GESTURE. 

Mr ....eyes measuring St staring 

No ....nostrils lifted Te hand on temple 

Nd nodding Ts tossing head 

O mouth open U looking upward 

Pt pouting V vacant aspect 

R looking to right We weeping 

Sh shaking head Wi ... .winking 

Sm ....smiling 

74. The following passages are marked, as Exercises 
in the Notation. The subject does not require length- 
ened illustration. Gesture should not be made too studied, 
or rigidly systematical ; freedom — the chief characteris- 
tic of grace — would be destroyed in the attempt to follow 
a minutely directive notation. Let every motion be in 
itself expressive and graceful, and scope may be left for 
spontaneity of application. 



XI. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NOTATION OF GESTURE. 
macbeth to the dagger-vision. — Shakespeare. 

hqp shr 

Is this a dagger [which I see before me ? — 
stR3 

PJ gr 

The handle towards my hand? — Come, let me clutch thee : — 
R4 L2 r R= 

hqs St 

I have thee not; — and vet I see thee still ! 
Ri 

Dp o pj 

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 
R 2 

ix 

To feeling as to sight? — or art thou but 

rb 

A dagger of the mind ? — a false creation 

F 
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain ?/tn 

eq 

I see thee yet ; — in form as palpable 
R 2 

Im 

As this which now I draw. 

— he to q si — ix 

Thou marshal'st me the way that I was going; 

L3 



NOTATION OF GESTURE. 1 93 

— pp . — e q 

Andossuch an instrument I was to use. 
Ri 

Sh 2 h con 2 pj^*~d 

Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, 

Li L2 

qk cl e q qk— h q ix 

Or else worth all the rest : — I see thee still ! 
Li R2 L 3 

— v r.s — h q con — pj h q — c 

Anderson thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood . . . 

L5 

— w 

Which was not so before ! — 
R 2 

Ar h q v Sh 

There's no such thing : — 
Li 

Kn ch Bbr — e q 

It is the bloody business, which informs 

L2 

-rl N 

Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one-half world 
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse 



The curtained sleep. Now witchcraft celebrates 
R 2 

Pale Hecate's offering, and withered murder 



Alarumed by his sentinel the wolf 
Ri 

Whose howl's his watch, thus, with his stealthy pace, 
R 2 

With Tarquin's ravishing strides, toward his design 

-dq 

Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth 

ad 1 R2 

r:-l shrch 

Hear not my steps which way they walk — for fear 

2 dx 
The very stones prate of my whereabout ! 

2 pj v e f v 

And take the present horror from the time 
Ri 

cl 

Which now suits with it. 



13 



194 NOTATION OF GESTURE, 

w — h q p 

I go, and it is done :Ovthe bell invites me.^TN 

R.2 —ad 

Fr 

Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell 

— z ix — rv: d b 

That summons thee ... to heaven or to hell. 



marco bozzaris. — F. G. Halleck. 

d q ix 

At midnight, in his guarded tent, 
Li 

rb 

The Turk was dreaming ... of the hour 

s pp d q cb sh 

When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent, 

con pj 

Should tremble at his power; 

h q ix c to f to q^to xs 

In dreams, through camp and court he bore 

L2 Li 

rv ev 

The trophies of a conqueror; 

c L3 
ix hm 

In dreams, his song of triumph heard — 

L2 
R hqo 

Then, wore that monarch's signet-ring — 

pp d str 2 h P^ w eq 

Then, press'd that monarch's throne — a king I — 

r R 2 
N 
As wild his thoughts, and gay of wing, 

Sb 
As Eden's garden bird !t\ 
Ri 

— h q ix 

At midnight, in the forest shades, 

R 2 
— r p — I p 

Bozzaris ranged his Suliote band, 

— s nt 

True as the steel of their tried blades, 

— rb ch as h q str 

Heroes in heart and hand. 

La up Ri 



NOTATION OF GESTURE. 1 95 

— hq ix 

There had the Persians' thousands stood, 
Li 
pp as — d q ix str 

There had the glad earth drunk their blood 

— ch rb 

On old Plataea's day ; 

L2 up 

qk-hqs: hfs pp 2 e q o 

And now these breathed that haunted air — 

Li 

rb 

The sons of sires who conquered there — 

ch con str: — ch Br: 

With arm to strike, and soul to dare, 

L2 Li 

2 c~x 
As quick, as far as they !/tn 
2 adL2 

N h q ix 

An hour passed on : — the Turk awoke ; — 
Li 
v as 
That bright dreamTNwas his last; — 

dn 
As — w 

He woke — to hear his sentries shriek — 
re L3 

R e q v — ix r. q 

" To arms ! — they come ! — the Greek !— the Greek !" 

N c ^ x 

He woke — to die,/TMnidst flame, and smoke, 
Ridn R> 

— c ^x: 

And shout, and groan, and sabre stroke, 

R 2 
2 h con 

And death-shots falling thick and fast, 
R 1 

Like forest-pines before the blast, 

Or lightnings from the mountain-cloud ; . . . 
R 2 

clL 
And heard — with voice as trumpet loud, — 

re L3 
— hq: 

Bozzaris cheer his band : — 

c^h^e q ch str 
" Strike ! — till the last armed foe expires — 
<L 4 ) L 3 

c^e q tr 

Strike — for your altars and your fires — 

stp 



:^6 NOTATION OF GESTURE. 

— d b^z tr 

Strike ! — for the green graves of jour sires — 

2 z U 2 exp ou 

God, — and jour native land !'Vr\ 



2 h f s p x 

Thej fought, like brave men, long and well, 

2 ^f s as 
Thej piled that ground with Moslem slain, — 

e cl con 

Thej conquered! . . . but Bozzaris fell, 

L3 

Sh 

Bleeding at everj vein. 

2 hq 

His few surviving comrades saw 

Sm — d f: wv 

His smile, when rang their proud hurrah > 

L4 

And the red field was won ; 

pp h cr 

Then saw in death his ejelids close, 

Li 



Calmlj as to a night's repose, 

N 
Like flowers at set of sun. 



D— w: f <- 

Bozzaris ! She who gave thee birth 
Ri 

Will, bj the pilgrim-circled hearth 

ri °u 
Talk of thj doom without a sigh ; 
R 2 

2 d q cxp 2 e q 

For thou art Freedom's now, and Fame's 

rb zf 

One of the few, the immortal names, 

Ri 
— h to — d q 
That were not born to die ! 

L2 (bw) 



THE 

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION 



PART SIXTH. 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 



i . A special search for illustrations of the Language 
of Passion resulted in the discovery that poets, and even 
dramatists — with the exception of Shakespeare — while 
they constantly speak about Passion, comparatively sel- 
dom give it direct utterance. The passages herein 
gathered from the wide fields of Shakespearean and 
general literature are embodiments of passionate expres- 
sion, in all moods, " from grave to gay, from lively to 
severe." As such, they furnish the very best kind of 
material for elocutionary exercise. 

2. The shades of sentiment in each passage — as appre- 
hended by the student — should be noted in the margin, 
and the passages then delivered so as to express the sen- 
timents indicated. This exercise will be found not onlv 
improving to style, but valuable for the development of 
critical acumen, and the formation of a habit of close 
attentiveness in general reading. 

3. The emphatic words are denoted by italics. No 
attempt is made to show the relative force of the empha- 
ses. Something must be left for the reader's own dis- 
crimination. The most important distinction among the 
italicised words would be manifested by the reader's un- 
derlining such words as he conceives to be suggestive of 
more than they literally express. 

4. In addition to the ordinary marks of punctuation, 
the Clause ( \ | ) , the Break ( ... ) , and the Expres- 
sive Pause (<*>'.), are occasionally introduced. 

197 



I98 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

EMPHASIZED EXERCISES 

IN THE 

LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

absorbing love. — P. J. Bailey. 

The only music | he 
Or learn'd or listened to, was from the lips 
Of her he loved ; — and that he learnt by heart. 
Albeit she would try to teach him tunes, 
And put his fingers on the keys ; but he 
Could only see . . . her eyes, and hear . . . her voice, 
And feel . . . her touch. 

admiration. — Shakespeare. 

What you do 
Still betters what is done. When you speak, sweet, 
I'd have you do it ever : when you si?ig, 
I'd have you buy and sell so ; so give alms ; 
Pray so ; and, for the ordering your affairs, 
To sing them too./rs When you do dance, I wish you 
A wave of the sea . . . that you might ever do 
Nothing but that : move still, still so, 
And otv7i no other function. Each your doing — 
So singular in each particular — 
Crowns what you are doing, in the present deeds, 
That all your acts are queens. 

admonition to consistency. — Shakespeare. 

Remember March, the Ides of March remember! 
Did not great Julius | bleed for justice' sake? 
What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, 
And not for justice? What! shall one of us, 
That struck the foremost man of all this world, 
But for supporting- robbers — shall we now 
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes, 
And sell the mighty space of our large honours . . ► 
For so much . . . trash as may be grasped thus ? — 
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, 
Than . . . such a Roman. 

A dream. — Republic of Letters. 

Thus spoke I to a vision of the night; — 
" O, joy ! A dream ? Thank heaven that it is fled ! 
For know you not, I dreamt that you were dead : — 
And with the dream my soul was sickened quite. 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. I99 

But since you're here, and since my heart is light, 

Come, as of old, and let us wandering seek 

Yon high and lovely hill, upon whose height, 

Which looks on all we value, we may speak 

As we were -wont, amid its bracing air, 

And pluck the while its crowned jewels there : 

For — [how I know not | but 'tis long ago 

Since last we met . . . Ha ! Wherefore look you so ? 

And why this. . . dimness? " rss — Horror ! 'twas the Ghost 

Alone I saw j of him I loved and lost ! 

advice. — Shakespeare. 

Give thy thoughts no tongue, 
Nor any unproportiond thought his act. 
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. 
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, 
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel : 
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment 
Of each «ew-hatch'd and unfledg'd comrade. Beware 
Of entrance to a quarrel ; but being in, 
Bear it, that the opposer | may beware of thee. 
Give every man thine ear, outfevj thy voice. 
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement : 
This above all, to thine own self he. true, 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then | be false to any one. 

AFFECTION.— J. S. KtlOwleS. 

Men go mad 
To lose their hoards of pelf, when hoards as rich 
With industry may come in time again ! 
Yet they go mad ... it happens every day. 
Have not some slain themselves? Yet, if a maid, — 
Who finds that she has . . . nothing j garner'd up, 
Where she believed she had a heart in store 
For one she gave away — is desperate, 
You marvel at her! Marvel\ — when the mines — 
Of all the earth — are poor as beggary 
To make her rich again ! Am I ashamed 
To tell thee this? No ! — Save the love we pay 
To Heaven, none purer, holier, than that 
A virtuous woman feels for him she'd cleave 
Through life to. Sisters part from sisters — brothers 
From brothers — children from their parents — but 
Such woman from the husband of her choice . . . 
Never. 

AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE. — WordsVJOrth. 

She dwelt among the untrodde?i ways beside the springs of Dove — 
A maid whom there were none to praise, and very few to love : — 



200 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

A violet, by a mossy stone half hidden from the eye — 

Fair as a star, when only one is shining in the sky. 

She lived unknown, and few could know when Lucy ceased to be, 

But . . . she is in her grave — and, oh, the difference to me ! 

ambition. — Byron. 

Ay — father! I have had those earthly visions 

And noble aspirations, in my youth, 

To make my own the mind of other men, 

The enlightener of nations ; and to rise . . . 

I knew not whither — it might be | to fall ; 

But fall, even as the mountain cataract, 

Which, having leapt from its more dazzling height, 

Even in the foaming strength of its abyss, 

Lies low, but mighty still. /tn But . . . this is past ; 

My thoughts mistook themselves. 

anger. — Shakespeare. 

Not speak of Mortimer! 
Zounds, I will speak of him ; and let my soul 
Want mercy, if I do not join with him. — 
Yea, on his part, I'll empty all these veins, 
And shed my dear blood, drop by drop, i' the dust, 
But I will lift the down- trod Mortimer 
As high i' the air as this unthankful king ; 
As this ingrate and cankered Bolingbroke. 
Those prisoners I shall keep— I will ; that's flat./T> 
He said he would not ransom Mortimer ; 
Forbad my tongue to speak of Mortimer ; 
But I will find him when he lies asleep, 
And in his ear I'll holla — Mortimer I 
Nay, 

I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak 
Nothing but — Mortimer . . . and give it him, 
To keep his anger still in motion. 

angry surprise. — Shakespeare. 

Gone . . . to be married I — gone to swear a peace ! 

False blood to false blood joined! Gone. . . to be friends ! — 

Shall Lewis have Blanch ? and Blanch those provinces ? 

It is not so : — thou hast .mis-spoke, — mis-heard ! /T\ 

Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again . . . 

It cannot be : — thou dost but say 'tis so,rr\ 

What dost thou mean by shaking of thy head? 

Why dost thou look so sadly on my son ? 

What means that hand upon that breast of thine? 

Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum, — 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 201 

Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds ? 
Be these sad signs confirmers of thy words ? 
Then speak again ; . . . not all thy former tale, 
But this one word, — whether thy tale be true P 

apparition. — Shakespeare. 

How ill this taper burns ! . . . Ha ! who comes here?^ 
I think j it is the weakness of mine eyes 
That shapes this . . . mo?istrous apparition — 
It comes upon me : /T\ art thou . . . any thing? 
Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil, 
That mak'st my blood cold, and my hair to stare? >t\ 
Speak to me . . . -what thou art. 

apprehension. — Lee. 

When the sun sets, shadows that showed at noon 
But small, appear most long and terrible : 
So, when we think fate hovers o'er our heads, 
Our apprehensions shoot beyond all bounds ; 
Owls, ravens, crickets, seem the watch of death ; — 
Nature's worst vermin scare her godlike sons. 
Echoes, ["the very leaving of a voice. | 
Grow babbling ghosts, and call us to our graves. 
Each mole-hill thought swells to a huge Olympus : 
While we, fantastic dreamers, heave and puff, 
And sweat . . . with an imagination's weight. 

assumeP bluntness. — Shakespeare. 

This is some fellow 
Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect 
A saucy roughness ; and constrains the garb, 
Quite from his nature. — He cannot flatter . . . he ! 
An honest mind and plain, — he must speak truth : f7\ 
An' they will take it. . . so; — if not . . . he's plain. <tn 
These kind of knaves I know, which in this . . . plainness 
Harbour more craft, and more corrupter ends 
Than twenty silly, ducking observants, 
That stretch their duties nicely. 
Fetch forth the stocks, ho ! /T\ 

You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend braggart. 
We'll teach you. . . Fetch forth the stocks : . . . 
As I've life and honour, there shall he sit till noon. 

authority. — Shakespea re. 

O, it is excellent 

To have a giant's strength ; but it is tyrannous 

To use it like a giant. 

Could great men | thunder 

As Jove himself does, Jove would ne'er be quiet : . . . 



202 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

For every pelting petty officer, 

Would use his heaven for thunder; nothing-... but... thunder. 

Merciful Heave?i ! 

Thou, rather, with thy sharp and sulphurous bolt, 

Split'st the unwedgeable and gnarled oak, 

Than the soft myrtle. — O, but man, proud man ! 

Drest in a little brief authority, 

Most ignorant of what he's most assured — 

His glassy essence, — like an angry ape, 

Plays such fantastic tricks, before high Heaven, 

As make the angels . . . -weep. 

AVARICIOUS AGE. Toung. 

Oh, my coevals ! remnants of yourselves ! 
Poor human ruins, tott'ring o'er the grave ! 
Shall we, shall aged men, like aged trees, 
Strike deeper their vile root, and closer cling, 
Still more enamour'd of this wretched soil ? 
Shall our pale, wither'd hands, be still stretched out, 
Trembling, at once with eagerness and age? 
With avarice and convulsions grasping hard ? 
Grasping ... at air ! rr\ for -what has earth beside ? 
Man wants but little ; nor that little long : 
How soon must he resign his very dust I 

beauty. — Blair. 

Beauty ! thou pretty ^/<zy-thing ! dear deceit ! 

That steals so softly o'er the stripling's heart, 

And gives it a new pulse, unknown before, — 

The grave . . . discredits thee. Thy charms expung , d > 

Thy roses faded, and thy lilies soiled. — 

What had'st thou more to boast of? Will thy lovers 

Flock round thee now, to gaze and do thee homage ? 

Methinks I see thee, with thy head laid low; 

Whilst, surfeited upon thy damask cheek, 

The high-fed worm in lazy volumes roll'd, 

Riots unscar'd. For this was all thy caution ? 

For this, thv painful labours at the glass, 

To improve those charms, and keep them in repair, 

For which the spoiler thanks thee not? Foul feeder! 

Coarse fare and carrion please thee full as well, 

And leave as keen a relish on the sense. 

BEREAVEMENT. — Alex. Bell. 

Each has his woe, and /, alas, teive mine. 
All common sorrows are in common shared; 
But there's a climax of calamity 
Which settles in some solitary breast. 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 203. 

The angry Avinds and flooding rains oft spread 
A general wreck; -while the electric fire 
A single victim strikes. — O, I have been 
A husband and a father ! /t\ Now, alas ! 
I'm childless, widowed, hopeless, aimless ! 

boastful challenge. — Shakespeare. 

Show me what thou'lt do ; 
Woul't weep PvtouYt fight? wouVt fast ? woul't tear thyself ? 
Woul't drink up Esil ? eat a crocodile ? 
ril d.o't. — Dost thou come here to whine, 
To outface me with leaping in her grave? 
Be buried . . . quick . . . with her .... and so will I : 
And if thou prate of mountains, let them throw 
Millions of acres on us ; till our ground, 
Singeing its pate against the burning zone, 
Make Ossa like a wart I Nay!^ an' thou'lt mouth, 
I'll rant as well as thou. 

charity. — Crabbe. 

An ardent spirit dwells Avith. Christian love, — 
The eagle's A'igour in the pitying dove : 
'Tis not enough that we Avith sorroAv sigh, 
That we the Avants of pleading man supply, 
That Ave in sympathy Avith sufferers feel, 
Nor hear a grief Avithout a wish to heal : 
Not these suffice : — to sickness, pain, and Avoe, 
The Christian spirit loves Avith aid to go ; /T\ 
Will not be sought, waits not for Want to plead, 
But seeks the duty — nay, prevents the need; — 
Her utmost aid to every ill applies, 
And plans relief for coming miseries^!*' 

cheerfulness. — Shakespeare. 

Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile, 
Hath not old custom made this life more SAA r eet 
Than that of painted pomp! 1 Are not these Avoods 
More free from peril than the envious coitrt f 
Here feel Ave but the penalty of Adam, 
The season's difference ; — as the icy fang 
And churlish chiding of the Avinter's wind, — 
Which . . . Avhen it bites and bloAvs upon my body, 
Ev'n till I shrink Avith cold, I smile, /T\and say, 
This I is no flattery ; these are counsellors 
That feelingly persuade me . . . what ... I am. 
Sweet are the uses of Adversity ; 
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, 
Wears yet a precious jewel in its head; 
And this our life, [exempt from public haunts, | 



204 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing. 

close of A guilty career. — Shakespeare. 

I have liv'd long enough : my May of life 

Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf; 

And that which should accompany old age,— - 

J_As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, \ 

/must not look to have; but, in their stead, 

Curses . . . not loud, but deep, — mo ut/t -honour, — breath, /T\ 

Which the poor heart would fain deny, but dare not. 

confidence. — Byron. 

That's false ! a truer, nobler, trustier heart, 

More loving, or more loyal, never beat 

Within a human breast. I would not change 

My exil'd, persecuted, mangled husband — 

Oppress'd, but not disgraced, crushed, overwhelm'd — 

Alive or dead, for Prince or Paladin, 

In story or in fable — with a -world 

To back his suit/r\ Dishonoztr'd—He dishonour'd ! 

I tell thee, Doge, 'tis Venice is dishonour'd. 

conflicting passions. — Shakespeare. 

Thou think'st 'tis much that this contentious storm 
Invades us to the skin : — so 'tis to thee ; 
But j where the greater malady is fixed, 
The lesser is scarce felt. Thou'dst shun a bear ; . . . 
But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea, 
Thou'dst meet the bear i' the mouth. When the mind^s free, 
The body's delicate : the tempest . . . in my mind 
Doth from my senses take all feeling else, 
Save . . . what . . . beats there, /T\ Filial ingratitude ! . . . 
Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand 
For lifting food to't? — But I vr'\\\ punish home! >ts 
No, I will weep no more. vr\ In such a night 
To shut me out ! . . . Pour on ; I will endure : /Tn 
In such a night as this ! O Regan — Goneril ! — 
Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all, ... 
O, that way madness lies : rr\ let me shun that. 
No more of that. — Prythee go in; seek thine own ease; 
This tempest will not give me leave j to ponder 
On things would hurt me more, — But I'll go in ! — 
In, boy; go first. /T\ I'll pray, and then I'll sleep, r^. 
Poor ?iaked wretches, wheresoe'er you are. 
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, 
How shall your houseless heads, and unfed sides, 
Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you 
From seasons such as these ? . . . O, I have ta'en 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 205 

Too little care of this! <S\ Take physic, pomp; — 
Expose thyself 'to feel what wretches feel, . . . 
That thou may'st shake the superflux to them, 
And show the heavens more just. 

contemptuous reproach. — Shakespeare. 

Thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward, 
Thou little valiant, great in villany ! 
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side ! 
Thou Fortune's champion, thou dost never fight 
But when her humorous ladyship is by 
To teach thee safety! rz\ thou art perjur 'd too, 
And sooth'st up greatness. What a. fool art thou, 
A ramping fool; to brag, and stamp, and swear 
Upon my party! Thou cold-blooded slave, 
Hast thou not spoke like thunder, on my side . . . 
Been sworn my soldier? bidding me depend 
Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength?. . . 
And dost thou now | fall over to my foes f /T\ 
Thou wear a lion's hide ! doff it for shame, 
And hang a calf's skin on those recreant limbs. 

constancy. — Milton. 

Certain, my resolution is — to die. 
How can I live without thee I how forego 
Thy converse sweet, and love so dearly join'd, 
To live again in these wild woods . . . forlorn ! 
Should God create another Eve, and I 
Another rib afford, yet loss of thee 
Would never from my heart ! no, no ; I feel 
The link of nature draw me ; flesh of my flesh, 
Bone of my bone thou art, and from thy state 
Mine never shall be parted, . . . bliss or woe. 

CONTRADICTION. — Lloyd. 

" Here, Cicely, take away my gun : 

How shall we have these starlings done /"' 

" — Done ! what, my love ? your wits are wild ! 

Starlings, my dear! they're thrushes, child." 

" Nay, now, but look, consider, wife, 

They're starlings.' 1 '' — "No, upon my life ! 

Sure I can judge as well as you . . . 

I know a thrush, and starling too.'* — 

" — Who was it shot them, you or I? 

They're starlings ! " — " Thrushes ! " — " Wife . . . you lie." — 

" — Pray, Sir, take back your dirty word, 

I scorn your language ... as your bird ; 

It ought to make a husband blush, 

To treat a Avife so . . . 'bout a . . . thrush. " 



206 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

" — Thrush, Cicely?"—" Tes."~ •<• A starling /»»—«« No.' 
The lie again, and then . . . the blow. 

CRAFTY ADVICE. — Rowe. 

Learn to dissemble . . . -wrongs, to smile at injuries, 

And suffer . . . crimes thou want'st the power to punish 

Be easy, affable, familiar, friendly : — 

Search, and know all mankind's mysterious ways ; 

But . . . trust the secret of thy soul | to ?io?ie ! 

This is the way, 

This only, to be safe in such a world as this is. 

CRAFTY MALIGNITY. — Milton. 

Let me not forget what I have gained 

From their own mouths : All is not theirs, it seems ; 

One fatal tree there stands, — of knowledge called, — 

Forbiddeji them to taste. Knowledge forbidden? 

/t\ Suspicious . . . reasonless ! Why should their Lord 

Envy them that? Can it be sin to know? 

Can it be death ? And do they only stand 

By ignorance f Is that their happy state — 

The proof of their obedience and their faith? 

O, fair foundation laid | whereon to build 

Their ruin ! Hence I will excite their minds 

With more desire to know ; and to reject 

Envious command, invented with design 

To keep them low, whom knowledge might exalt 

Equal with gods :/T\ Aspiring to be such . . . 

They taste and die ! 

death. — Young. 

Will toys amuse, when med'cines cannot cure? 
When spirits ebb, when life's enchanting scenes 
Their lustre lose, and lessen in our sight; 
[As lands, and cities, with their glittering spires, 
To the poor shatter'd bark, by sudden storms 
Thrown off to sea, and soon to perish there? | 
Will toys amuse? No : thrones will then be toys, 
And 'earth and skies seem . . . dust upon the scale. 

DESIRE AND DREAD OF DEATH. — Byron. 

We are, fools — of time and terror : days 
Steal on lis, and steal from us ; yet we live, 
Loathing our life, and dreading still to die. /T\ 
In all the days of this detested yoke — 
This vital -weight upon the struggling heart, 
| Which sinks with sorrow, or beats quick with pain, 
Or joy that ends in agony or faintness — | 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 20"J 

In all the days — of past and future, — for 
In life there is no present, — we can number 
How few, how less than few— wherein the soul 
Forbears to pant for death; and jet .. . draws back 
As from a stream in winter, though the chill 
Be but a moment's. 

despair. — Byron. 

To be thus— 
Grey-hair'd with anguish, like the blasted pines, 
Wrecks of a single winter, barkless, branchless ; 
A blighted trunk upon a cursed root, 
Which but supplies ^feelitig to decay; — 
And to be thus eternally ; but thus, 
Having been otherwise ! Now furrow'd o'er 
With wrinkles, plough'd by moments, not by years ; 
And hours ... all tortured into ages — hours 
Which I outlive ! ^ Ye toppling crags of ice — 
Ye avalanches, — whom a breath draws down 
In mountainous o'erwhelming — cotne and crush me ! 
I hear you — momently, above, beneath, — 
Crash with a frequent conflict ; but . . ye pass, 
And only fall j on things that still would live. 

disappointed envy. — Shakespeare. 

Three great ones of the city, 

In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, 

*(9^ r capp'd to him; — and by the faith of man, 

I know my price — I am worth no worse a place. /C\ 

But he, as loving his own pride and purposes, 

Evades them — with a bombast circumstance, 

Horribly stuffed with epithets of war ; 

And, in conclusion, nonsuits 

My mediators ; for, certes, says he, 

I have already \ chose my officer. 

And what was he ? — 

Forsooth, a great. . . arithmetician, 

One Michael Cassio, a Florentine ... a fellow 

That never seta squadron in the field, 

Nor the division of a battle | knows 

More than a spinster — unless the bookish theorich, 

Wherein the toged consuls can propose 

As masterly as he : — mere prattle, without practice, 

Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election, r?\ 

And 7", — of whom his eyes had seen the proof, 

At Rhodes — at Cyprus— and on other grounds, 

Christian and heathen, — must be be-lee'd and calm'd 

* Saluted him — took off their caps. 



208 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

By . . . debitor and creditor, this counte r-caster /r* 

He, in good time, must his Lieutenant be, 

And /, (O, bless the mark !) his Moorship's . . . Ancient 

But there's no remedy — 'tis the curse of service. <s\ 

Preferment goes by letter and affection ; 

Not by the old gradation, where each Second 

Stood heir to the First. 

disdainful scorn. — Byron. 

I could not tame my nature down : for he 

Must serve who fain would sway, — and soothe — and sue— 

And watch all time, and pry into all place, — 

And be/Tsa living lie, — who would become 

A mighty thing amongst the mean ; — and such 

The mass are. — I disdained to mingle with 

A herd, though to be leader, — and of wolves, 

The lion | is alone, and so am /. 

disgust. — Shakespeare. 

There may be in the cup a spider steeped, 

And one may drink, depart, and take no venom 

For his k?iowledge is not infected ; — but 

If one present the abhorred ingredient 

To his eye — make known how he hath drunk, 

He . . . cracks his gorge — his sides, with violent hefts rs\ 

/ . . . have drunk, and seen the spider ! 

disinterested love. — y. Sheridan Knowle 

Rank that excels its wearer, doth degrade ; 

Riches impoverish that divide respect : 

O, to be cherished for one's self alone ! 

To owe the love that cleaves to us, to naught 

Which fortune's summer — xvinter, — gives or takes; 

To know that, while we wear the heart and mind, 

Feature and form, high heaven endowed us with, — 

Let the storm pelt us, or fair weather warm, 

We shall be loved ! Kings, from their thrones cast down, 

Have blessed their fate, that they were valued for 

Themselves, and not their stations, when some knee 

That hardly bowed to them in plenitude, 

Has kissed the dust before them, stripped of all ! 

dissembled love. — Shakespeare. 

Think not I love him. though I ask for him; 
'Tis but a peevish boy ; — yet he talks well : — 
But what care I for words f yet words do well . . . 
When he that speaks them pleases those that hear. 
It is a pretty youth . . . not very pretty : — 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 209 

But. sure, he's proud . . . and jet his pride becomes him . . . 

He'll make & proper man. /Cn The best thing in him 

Is his complexion : and faster than his tongue 

Did make offence, his eye \ did heal it up. 

There was a prettj redness in his lip ; . . . 

A little riper and more lusty red 

Than that mix'd in his cheek : 'twas just the difference 

Betwixt the constant red and mingled damask . /T\ 

There be some women, Silvius, had they mark'd him 

In parcels as I did, would have gone near 

To fall in love with him ; rr\ but, for my part, 

I .'. . love him not, /T\ nor hate him not; — and yet 

I have more cause to hate him than to love him ; 

For what had he to do to chide at me ? 

He said, mine eyes were black, and my hair black; 

And, — now I am remember'd, — scorn d at me : . . . 

I marvel why I answer d not again ; — 

But that's all one; omittance is no quittance. 

distrust. — Shakespeare. 

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor ; — and shalt be . . . 

What thou art promised: — Yet do I fear thy nature ; 

It is too full o' the milk of human kindness, 

To catch the nearest way. its Thou -wouldst be great ; — 

Art not without ambition ; but without 

The illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly, 

That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not flay false, 

And yet wouldst wrongly win : thou'dst have, great Glamis, 

That which cries, — Thus thou must do, if thou have it: 

And that which rather thou <\o%t fear to do, 

Than wishest should be ««done. /C\ Hie thee hither, — 

That I may pour my spirits in thine ear; 

And chastise with the valour of my tongue 

All that impedes thee | from the golden round 

Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem 

To have | thee crown'd withal. 

emulation in "gentility." — Household Words. 

Here's the . . . plumber-painter-and-glazier . . . come to take 
the funeral order — which he is going to give to the sexton — who 
is going to give it to the clerk — who is going to give it to the 
carpenter — who is going to give it to the furnishing undertaker 
— [who is going to divide it with the Black Jobmaster. 

"Hearse and four, Sir?" — says he. — "No; a pair will be 
sufficient." — " I beg your pardon, Sir, but when we buried Mr. 
Grundy, at number twenty, there were four. Sir ... I think it 
right to mention it." — " Well, perhaps there had better be four." 
— " Thank you, Sir." rzs 

" Two coaches and four, Sir, shall we say ?" — " No, coaches 



2IO THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

and pair" " You'll excuse my mentioning it, Sir, but pairs to 
the coaches, and four to the hearse, would have a singular ap- 
pearance to the neighbours. When we put four to anything, we 
always carry four right through" — " Well ! say four !" — " Thank 
you, Sir." st\ 

^Feathers, of course?" — "No: — No feathers. They're ab- 
surd." — " Very good, Sir; No feathers !" — " No." — " Very good, 

Sir. — We can do fours without feathers, Sir but it's what we 

never do.* When we buried Mr. Grundy, we had feathers 

and — I only throw it out, Sir— Mrs. Grundy might think it 
strange." — " Very well ! Feathers ! " — " Thank you, Sir." 

And so on through the whole . . . black job of jobs because of 
. . . Mrs. Grundy and . . . " gentility ! " 

encouragement. — Shakespeare. 

Great Lord, wise men ne'er sit and wail their loss, 
But cheerly seek law to redress their harms. 
What though the mast be now thrown overboard, 
The cable broke, the holding anchor lost, 
And half our sailors swallowed in the flood ? 
Yet lives our pilot still. Is't meet that he 
Should leave the helm, and, like a fearful lad, 
With tearful eye add water to the sea, 
And give more strength to that which hath too much ; 
While, in his moan, the ship split on a rock, 
Which industry and courage might have saved ? 
Ah ! what a shame ! Ah, what a fault were this ! 

envious contempt. — Shakespeare. 

I was born free as Casar ; so were you. sr\ 

We both have fed as well ; and we can both 

Endure the winter's cold . . . as well as he ! 

For once, upon a raw and gusty day, 

The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores, 

Caesar said to me, — Dar'st thou, Cassius, now 

Leap in with me into this angry flood, 

And swim to yonder point? Upon the -word, 

Accoutred as I was — I plunged in, 

And bade him follow : ^\ so, indeed, he did. 

The torrent roar'd ; and we did buffet it 

With lusty sinews ; throwing it aside 

And stemming it with hearts of controversy ; . . . 

But ere we could arrive the point proposed, 

Caesar cried, Help me, Cassius, or I sink. 

I — as^Eneas, our great ancestor, 

Did, from the flames of Troy, upon his shoulder 

* This emphasis on a word already used in the sentence may seem a violation of 
the Principle of Emphasis, but it is not so; " do " is here equivalent to " do do " 
as opposed to " can do." 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 211 

The old Anchises bear — so, from the waves of Tiber 

Did I . . the tired Caesar ! rs\ And this man 

Is now become a God ! and Cassius is . . . 

A -wretched creature— and must bend his body 

If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. f\ 

He had a. fever when he was in Spain, 

And, when the fit was on him, I did mark 

How he did shake. . . . 'Tis true,— this god did shake. 

His coward lips did from their colour fly; 

And that same eye, whose bend doth awe the world, 

Did lose its lustre : rs\ I did hear him groan : 

Ay, and that tongue of his, — that bade the Romans 

Mark him, and write his speeches in their books, — 

Alas, (it cried,) Give me some drink, Titinius . . . 

As a sick girl. ff\ Ye gods ! it doth amaze me, 

A man of such a feeble temper should 

So get the start of the majestic world, 

And bear the palm alone. 

EXALTED MISERY. — Dowe. 

royalty! what joys hast thou to boast, 
To recompense thy cares? Ambition seems 
The passion of a God. Yet from my throne 
Have I, with envy, seen the naked slave 
Rejoicing in the music of his chains, 

And singing toil away ; and then at eve 
Returning peaceful to his couch of rest : — 
Whilst / | sat anxious and perplexed with cares : 
Projecting, plotting, fearful of event ; 
Or, like a wounded snake, lay down to writhe 
The sleepless night, upon a bed of state. 

exculpation. — Shakespeare. 

Friends, Romans, Countrymen I lend ?ne your ears; 

1 come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 
The evil that men do lives after them ; 

The good \ is oft interred with their bones, sts 
So let it be with Caesar ! /Cs The noble Brutus 
Hath told you, Caesar was ambitious — 
If it were so, it was a grievous fault; 
And grievously hath Caesar ansxvered it rr\ 
Here — under leave of Brutus . . . and the rest — 
For Brutus is an honourable man . . . 
So are they all I all . . . honourable men — 
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral. 

He was my friend— faithful and just to me— 
But Brutus says, he was ambitious . . . 
And Brutus is an honourable man ! «*\ 
He hath brought many captives home to Rome . . . 
Whose ransoms did the general cofters fill : 



212 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious ?^tn 
When that the poor have oried, Caesar hath ti/e//;— 
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff! . . . 
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious ; 
And Brutus is an honourable man !/rs 
You all did see, that, on the Lupercal, 
I, thrice, presented him a kingly crown, 
Which he did thrice refuse : was this ambition ? 
Yet Brutus says he -was ambitious . . . 
And sure he is . . . an honourable man ! /T\ 
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke; 
But here I am to speak what I do knoiv. 
You all did love him once — not without cause ! 
What cause withholds you, then, to mourn for him? 

Judgement ! thou art fled to brutish beasts, 
And men have lost their reason ! /T\ Bear with me : 
My heart is in the coffin there . . . with Caesar . . . 
And I must pause /?\ till it come back to me ! 

exhortation against ambition. — Shakespeare* 

Cromwell, /T\ I did not think to shed a tear 

In all my miseries, . . . but thou hast forced me — 

Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman. f\ 

Let's dry our eyes : and thus far hear me, Cromwell ; 

And, — when I am forgotten ; ... as I shall be, 

And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention 

Of me more must be heard of, — say I taught thee, 

Say, — Wolsey, — that once trod the ways of glory, 

And sounded all the depths . . . and shoals of honour, — 

Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ; 

A safe and sure one, though thy master miss'd it. 

Mark but my fall, and that that ruin'd me. /r\ 

Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition ; 

By that sin fell the Angels : how can man then — 

The image of his Maker, — hope to win by't ? 

Love thyself last ; cherish those that hate thee : — 

Corruption wins not more than honesty. 

Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace. 

To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not : 

Let all the ends thou aim'st at — be thy country's, 

Thy God's, and truth's, ^s then, if thou fall'st, O Cromwell,. 

Thou fall'st a blessed martyr ! Serve . . . the king ; 

And, . . . /T\ prythee, lead me in. s?\ 

There take an inventory of all I have, . . . 

To the last fenny, 'tis the king's; my robe, 

And my integrity to Heaven, is all 

1 dare — now — call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell, 
Had I but served my God with half the zeal 

I served my King, . . . He would not, in mine age 
Have left me— naked — to mine enemies. 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 21 3 

exhortation to courage. — Shakespeare. 

But wherefore do you droop f Why look you sad ? 
Be great in act. as you have been in thought ; 
Let not the world see fear and sad distrust 
Govern the motion of a kingly eye : 
Threaten the threatener, and outface the brow 
Of bragging horror ; so shall inferior eyes, 
[/That borrow their behaviours from the great, | 
Grow great by your example ; /t\ and put on 
The dauntless spirit of resolution ; 
Show boldness and aspiring confidence. 
What, shall they seek the lion in his den, 
And fright him . . . there ; — and make him tremble there? — 
Oh let it not be said ! fT\ Forage and run, . . . 
To meet disvAedLSure, farther from the doors, 
And grapple with him ere he come so nigh. 

farewell to greatness. — Shakespeare. 

Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness ! 

z^This is the state of man : — to-day he puts forth 

The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms, 

And bears his blushing honours thick upon him : 

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost ; 

And, — when he thinks, \_good easy man, | full surely 

His greatness is a.-ripening, — nips his root, 

And then . . . he falls . . . as — I do. ^ I have ventured — 

Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, — 

These many summers, in a sea of glory . . . 

But far beyond my depth. /r\ My high-blown pride 

At length broke under me . . . and now has left me, 

Weary, and old with service, to the mercy 

Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me. /r\ 

Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye ! 

I feel my heart new open'd. /^\ O, how wretched 

Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours ! 

There is, betwixt that smile he would aspire to — 

That sweet aspect of princes, and his ruin, 

More pangs and fears than wars or women have f*\ 

And — when he falls, he falls like Lucifer . . . 

Never to hope again. 

FEAR OF DEATH. — Toung. 

Why start at death? Where is he? Death arrived 
Is past ; not come, or go ?ie — he's never here. 
Ere hope, sensation fails : black-boding man 
Receives — not suffers — death's tremendous blow. 
The knell, the shroud, the mattock, and the grave, 
The deep damp vault, the darkness, and the worm, — 
These are the bugbears of a winter's eve, 
The terrors of the living, not the dead. 



214 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

I?nagination , s fool, and error's wretch, 
Man makes a death which Nature never made ; 
Then on the point of his own fancy falls ; 
And feels a thousand deaths in fearing one. 

gratitude. — Shakespeare. 

I have five hundred crowns, — 
The thrifty hire I saved under your father, 
Which I did store to be my foster-nurso., 
When service should in my old limbs lie lame, 
And unregarded age in comers thrown ; — 
Take that : and . . . He that doth the ravens feed r 
Yea, providently caters for the sparrow, 
Be comfort to my age ! Here is the gold ; 
All this I give you. rs\ Let me be your servant ; — 
Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty : 
For in my youth I never did apply 
Hot and rebellious liquors to my blood ; 
Nor did not, with unbashful forehead woo 
The means of weakness and debility: 
Therefore my age is as a lusty winter, 
Frosty but kindly : /T\ let me go with you . . . 
I'll do the service of a younger man 
In all your business and necessities. 

grief. — Byron. 

He asked no question — all were answered now, 

By the first glance on that still marble brow. 

It was enough — she died — what recked it how? 

The love of youth, the hope of better years, 

The only living thing he could not hate, 

Was reft at once : - and he deserved his fate . . . 

But did T\o\.feel\X. less. — The good \ explore 

In peace — those realms where guilt can never soarr 

The proud — the wayward — who have fixed below 

Their joy— and find this earth enough for woe. 

Lose in that one . . . their all — perchance a mite — 

But who in patience parts with all delight? 

Full many a stoic eye and aspect stern 

Mask. . . heai-ts where" ^r/e/" hath little left to learn 

And many a withering thought lies hid, not lost, 

In smiles . . . that least befit who wear them most. 

guilty conscience. — Byron. 

The mind that broods o'er guilty woes, 

Is . . . like the scorpion girt by fire : 
In circle narrowing as it glows, 
The flames around their captive close j 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 215 

Till, inly searched by thousand throes 

And maddening in her ire, 
One, and a sole relief she knows : 
The sting . . . she nourished for her foes, 
[Whose venom never yet was vain, 
Gives but one pang, and cures all pain, | 
She darts into her desperate brain. <T\ 
So do the dark in soul expire, 
Or live . . . like scorpion girt by fire ; 
So writhes the mind remorse hath riven — 
Unfit for earth, undoomed for heaven; 
Darkness above, despair beneath, 
Around it ffatne, -within it . . . death ! 

HATRED. 

Why, get thee gone, . . . horror and night go with thee I/Cs 
Sisters of Acheron, go hand in hand, 
Go dance about the bower, and close them in ; 
And tell them that /sent you to salute them. 
Profane the ground, and — for the ambrosial rose 
And breath of jessamin, — let hemlock blacken 
And deadly night-shade poison all the air : 
For the sweet nightingale may ravens croak, 
Toads pant, and adders rustle through the leaves : 
May serpents, winding up the trees, let fall 
Their hissing necks upon them from above, 
And mingle kisses . . . such as / would give them. 

HONESTY TRUE NOBILITY. — Alex. Bell. 

I shall not grieve your lordship by a claim 

Of kindred blood, which often brings disgrace. 

I prize gradations in the social scale : 

They mainly tend to harmony and peace ; 

But there exists a rank which far transcends 

The stars and coronets that shine in courts : 

It takes no sounding name to make men stare; 

No blazoning heraldry proclaims its pomp ; 

Its modest title is — plain honesty. 

Though homely be its garb, though coarse its fare, 

And though it live unnoticed by the crowd ; 

Still, spite of fashion's fools, the honest man 

Is yet the highest noble of the land ! 

Yes, honesty's the poor man's best estate, 

And still is his when other gifts take wing. 

'Tis regal breath makes lords, — but honest men 

Receive their honour from the King of kings ! 

honour. — Shakespeare. 
Well, 'tis no matter; — honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if 
honour prick me off when I come on ? How then f Can honour 



2l6 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

set-to a leg? No. Or an arm f No. Or take away the grief 
of a wound? No. Honour hath ?io skill in surgery then? No. 
/r\ What is honour ? A word. What is in that word ? Honour ! 
What is that honour? Air. its A trim reckoning! /T\ Who hath 
it? He that died o' Wednesday. — Doth he feel it? No. — Doth 
he hear it? No. — Is it zVzsensible, then? Yea, to the dead. But 
will it not live with the living f No. Why? Detraction will 
not suffer it : — therefore I'll none of it. — Honour is a mere 
''scutcheon . . . and so ends my catechism. 

v ignorant criticism. — Sterne. 

"And how did Garrick speak the soliloquy last night?" — " Oh, 
against all rule, my Lord ; most ungrammatically ! Betwixt the 
substantive and the adjective, which should agree together in 
number, case, and gender, he made a breach thus — rt\ — stopping 
as if the point wanted settling; and after the nominative case, 
which Ly our Lordship knows | should govern the verb, he sus- 
pended his voice in the epilogue, a dozen times, — three seconds 
and three-ffths, by a stop-watch, my Lord, each time." — "Ad- 
mirable grammarian ! " 

" But | in suspending his voice was the sense suspended like- 
wise ? Did no expression of attitude or countenance fill up the 
chasm ? Was the eye silent? Did you narrowly look?" — " I . . . 
looked only at the stop-ware//, my Lord." — '■'Excellent observer !" 

O, of all the cants which are canted in this canting world, — 
though the cant of hypocrisy may be the worst, — the cant of 
criticism is the most tormenting I — I would go fifty miles ... on 
foot ... to kiss the hand of that man whose generous heart will 
give up the reins of his imagination into his author's hands, be 
pleased he knows not why, and cares not wherefore. 

incredulous horror. — Mrs. Norton. 

Thou dost but jest — thou couldst not tell it me 
So calmly, were it true ; thy lip would quiver, 
Thine eye would shrink, thy hand would tremble, 
Thy voice would falter forth the horrid words — 
Even as a tale of blood is ever told ; 
Thy brow . . . but ah ! that grave and gloomy smile 
Sends a chill poison creeping through my veins ! /T\ 
And yet it is not true ! sz\ He . . . dead ! Oh no ! 
Young, proud, brave, beautiful ; but yesternoon 
The chief of thousands, who would all have given 
Their life's-blood, drop by drop, for love of him. — 
He could not die ! — rzs Who told me he was dead ? /T\ 
Oh ! horrible dreams are maddening my poor brain . . . 
Hark ! there are voices ringing through the air. — 
They call thee . . . murderer I rr\ Thou answerest not! 
' Tis true ! — And now that l-ivulet of blood 
Which flows between us, parts our souls for ever I 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 21 7 

indifference. — Literary Treasury. 

There was in our town a certain Tom Ne'er-do-well — an honest 
fellow, who was brought to ruin by . . . too readily crediting that 
care will kill a cat. Poor fellow ! he never considered that he 
was not a cat; — and, accordingly, he made it a point not to care 
for anything. He did not care for his father's displeasure — and 
he was disinherited. He did not care for money — and he was 
ahvays distressed. He did not care for other people's feelings — 
and he was severely winged in a duel. He did not care for a 
notice to trespassers -and he walked into a man-trap. He did 
not care for his -wife — and she ran a-way from him. He did not 
care for his health— and he became bedridden. He didn't care 
. . . for any body — and every body left him to his sorrows. f7\ 
And lastly, he didn't care . . . for himself— and he died in a 
■workhouse. 

INDIGNANT CONTRAST. — BUMS. 

See yonder poor overlaboured wight, 

So abject, mean, and vile, 
Who begs a brother of the earth 

To give him leave to toil ; 
And see his lordly fellow-worm 

The poor petition spurn — 
Unmindful though a weeping wife 

And helpless offspring mourn. 

If I'm designed yon lordling's slave — 

By Nature's law designed — 
Why was an independent wish 

E'er planted in my mind ? 
If not, why am I subject | to 

His cruelty, or scorn? 
Or why has man the will, and/ower 

To make his fellow mourn ? 



indignation. — Moore. 



*r 



To think that man, thou just and gentle God ! 

Should stand before Thee, with a tyrant's rod, 

O'er creatures like himself, with souls from Thee, 

Yet dare to boast of perfect liberty I 

Away, away ! /tn I'd rather hold my neck 

By doubtful tenure from a Sultan's beck, 

In climes where liberty has scarce been named, 

Nor any right but that of ruling claimed, 

Than thus to live, where bastard freedom | waves 

Her fustian flag | in mockery . . . over slaves ! 

jealousy. — Shakespeare. 

Think'st thou, I'd make a life of jealousy, 
To follow still the changes of the moon* 



2l8 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

With, fresh suspicions? No : to be once in doubt, 

Is . . . once to be resolved. /T\ Exchange me for a goat 

When I shall turn the business of my soul 

To such exsufflicate and blown surmises, 

Matching thy inference. 'Tis not to make me jealous, 

To say . . . my wife \s> fair— feeds well — loves company— 

Is free of speech — sings — plays — and dances well. 

Where virtue is, these are more virtuous! — 

Nor, from mine own weak merits, will I draw 

The smallest fear, or doubt of her revolt — 

For, she had eyes and chose me. /Tn No, Iago ; — 

I'll see, before I doubt; -when I doubt . . . prove : 

And, on the proof, there is no more but this, — 

Away at once with love, or . . . jealousy. 

joy. — Shakespeare. 

O! my soul' s joy ! 
If after every tempest come such calms, 
May the winds blow . . . till they have wakened death ! 
And let the labouring bark climb hills of seas 
Olympus high, and duck again as low 
As hell's from heaven ! /t\ If it were now to die, 
'Twere now to be most happy; for I fear 
My soul hath her content so absolute, 
That not another comfort like to this 
Succeeds in unknown fate. 

justification. — Shakespeare. 
Romans, Countrymen, and Lovers! — Hear me for my cause; 
and be silent that you may hear. Believe me, for mine honour: 
and have respect to mine honour, that you may believe. Censure 
me in your -wisdom ; and awake your senses, that you may the 
better judge. <T\ If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend 
of Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to Caesar was no less 
than his. If, then, that friend demand, why Brutus rose against 
Caesar, this is my answer; — not that I loved Caesar less, but that 
I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living, and die 
all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live %\\ freemen f — As 
Caesar loved me, I weep for him ; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at 
it; as he was valiant, I honour him ; but ... as he was ambitious, 
I slew him ! There are /T\ tears for his love, joy for his fortune, 
honour for his valour, and death for his ambition ! — Who's here 
so base, that would be a bondman P if any, speak! for him have 
I offended. Who's here so rude, that would not be a Roman? if 
any, speak! for him have I offended. Who's here so vile, that 
will not love his country? if any, speak! for him have I offended. 
— I pause for reply, srs None ? then none have I offended ! 

laughter. — Shakespeare. 
A. fool ! rr\ a fool ! — I met a fool i' th' forest . . . 
A motley fool ; — a miserable varlet ! — 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 219 

As I do live by food, I met a fool G\ 
Who laid him down, and bask'd him in the sun, 
And rail'd on Lady Fortune in good terms . . . 
In good set terms, — and yet a motley fool ; 

' Good morrow, fool," quoth I; " No, sir," quoth he; 

" Call me not fool, till heav'n hath sent me fortune ! " rs\ 

And then he drew a dial from his poke, 

And — looking on it with lack-lustre eye — 

Says very wisely . . . " It is . . . te?i o'clock! " — 

" Thus may we see," quoth he, " how the world wags ; 

'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine, 

And after one hour more 'twill be eleven I — 

And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe, 

And then n\ from hour to hour we rot and rot . . . 

And . . .^ thereby hangs a tale." When I did hear 

The motley fool thus moral on the time, 

My lungs began to crow like chanticleer, 

That fools should be so deep contemplative : — 

And I did laugh, sans intermission, 

An hour ... by his dial. O noble fool ! 

A worthy fool ! <t\ Motley's the o?ily wear. 

listening. — Wordsworth. 

I have seen 
A curious child who dwelt upon a ti*act 
Of inland ground, applying to his ear 
The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell ; 
To which rs\ in silence hushed fs\ his very soul 
Listened intently; and his countenance soon 
Brightened with joy; for murmur ings from within 
Were heard — sonorous cadences ! whereby, 
To his belief, the monitor expressed 
Mysterious union with its native sea. fs\ 
— Even such a shell the universe itself 
Is to the ear of Faith. 

listening to distaxt music. — Republic of Letters. 

What strain is this /CN that comes upon the sky 

Of moonlight, as if yonder gleaming cloud 
Which seems to wander to the melody, 

Were sem^-freighted ! — Now rs\ it dies away 
In a most far-off tremble ^ and is still ; 
Leaving a charmed silence on each hill 

Flower-covered, ai:d the grove's minutest spray. 
Hark ! /C\ one more dip of fingers in the wires ! 

One scarce-heard murmur . . . struggling into sound, 

And fading — like a sunbeam from the ground, 
Or gilded vanes of dimly visioned spires ! 

But it hath tuned my spirit, which will recall 

Its magic tones, in memory treasured all. 



220 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

LOWLINESS OF MIND. — H. K. White. 
O ! I would walk 
A wear j journey, to the farthest verge 
Of the big world, to kiss that good man's hand, 
Who, in the blaze of wisdom and of art, 
Preserves a lowly mind ; and to his God, — 
Feeling the sense of his own littleness, — 
Is as. a child in meek simplicity ! st\ 
What is the pomp of learning- f the parade 
Of letters and of tongues ? rz\ Even as the mists 
Of the grey morn before the rising sun, 
That pass away and perish. — Earthly things 
Are but the transient pageants of an hour ; 
And earthly pride is like the passing flower, 
That springs . . .to fall, and blossoms but to die. 

malicious revenge. — Shakespeare. 
There I have another bad match : a bankrupt, a prodigal, who 
dare scarce show his head on the Rialto; — a beggar, that used 
to come so smug upon the mart; — let him look to his bond I he 
was wont to call me . . . usurer ; — let him look to his bond ! he 
was wont to lend money for a . . . Christian courtesy ; — let him 
look to his bond ! /C\ He hath disgraced me, and hinder'd me of 
half a million ; lauglid at my losses, — mock'd at my gains, — 
scorn'd my ?iation, — thwarted my bargains, — cooVd my friends, 
— heated mine enemies ; rr\ And what's his reason f I . . . am ... a 
Jew : Hath not a Jew eyes f hath not a Jew hands? organs, di- 
mensions, senses, affections, passions f — fed with the same food, 
hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heaVd 
by the same means, warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and 
summer as a . . . Christian is ? If you prick us, do we not bleed f 
if you tickle us, do we not laugh ? if you poison us, do we not 
die f and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? rr\ If we are like 
you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. /T\ If a Jew wrong 
a Christian, what is his . . . humility f — Revenge. If . . . a Chris- 
tian . . . wrong ... a Jew, what should his . . . sufferance be, by . . . 
Christian example ¥ — Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, 
I will execute : and it shall go hard, but I will better the instruc- 
tion. 

maternal love. — A. Bethune. 

Unlike all other earthly things, — 
Which ever shift and ever change, — 

The love which a fond Mother brings, 
Nought earthly can estrange. 

All that by mortal may be done 

A mother ventures for her son. 

If marked by worth and merit high, 

Her bosom beats with ecstacy ; 

And though he own nor worth nor charm, 

To him her faithful heart is warm : 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 221 

Though wayward passions round him close, 
And fame and fortune prove his foes; 
Through every change of good and ill" 
exchanged, ... a mother loves him still. 
And Avhen those kindred cords are broken 

Which twine around the heart; — 
When friends their fare-well word have spoken, 

And to the grave depart : — 
When parents, brothers, husband, die, . . . 

And desolation only 
At every step meets her dim eye, 

Inspiring visions lonely: — 
Love's last and longest root below, 
Which widowed mothers only know, 
Watered by each successive grief, 
Puts forth a fresher, greener leaf. 
Divided streams unite in one, 
And deepen round her only son ; 
And when her early friends are gone, 
She lives and breathes in him alone. 

melancholy reflections. — Shakespeare. 

Poor lord ! is't / 
That chase thee from thy country, and expose 
Those tender limbs of thine to the event 
Of the none-sparing -war f and is it I 
That drive thee from the sportive court, where thou 
Wast shot at with fair eyes, to be the mark 
Of smoky muskets f O you leaden messengers, 
That ride upon the violent speed of fire, 
Fly with false aim; move the still-piercing air, 
That sings with piercing . . . Do not touch ray lord Ifs 
Whoever shoots at him, /set him there : 
Whoever charges on his forward breast, 
I am the caitiff that do hold him to it ; 
And, though I kill him not, I am the cause 
His death was so effected./^ Better 'twere 
I met the raven lion — when he roar'd 
With sharp constraint of hunger; better 'twere 
That all the miseries which nature owes, 
Were mine at once ... I will be gone, 
My being here it is that holds him hence ; 
Shall I stay here to do't? No, no, although 
The air of paradise did fan the house, 
And angels officed all ! /t\ I will be gone. 

mercy. — Shakespeare. 

The quality of mercy is not strain'd : 

It droppeth, as the gentle rain [from heaven 

Upon the place beneath : | It is tivice bless'd ; — 



222 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes : 

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes 

The throned monarch better than his crown : 

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, — 

The attribute to awe and majesty, 

Wherein doth sit the dread and/ear of kings; — 

But mercy is above this scepter'd sway; 

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings ; 

It is an attribute of God himself: 

And earthly power doth then show likest God's, 

When mercy seasons justice. 

misery IN royalty. — Shakespeare. 

Of comfort . . . no man speak : 
Let's talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs; 
Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes 
Write Sorrow on the bosom of the earth. 
Let's choose executors, and talk of -wills . . . 
And yet not so, — for what can we bequeath, 
Save our deposed bodies to the ground ? 
Our lands, our lives, and all . . . are Bolingbroke*s ; 
And nothing can we call our own . . . but death, 
And that small model of the barren earth 
Which serves as paste and cover to our bones. 
For heaven's sake, let us sit upon the ground, 
And tell sad stories of the death of kings : — 
How some have been deposed,— some slain in -war ; — 
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed ; — 
Some poison'd by their wives, — some sleeping kill'd ; — 
All murder'd ;/rs for within the hollow crown 
That rounds the mortal temples of a king 
Keeps Death his court : and there the antic sits, 
Scoffing his state, and grinning at his pomp ; 
Allowing him a breath, a little scene 
To monarchize, be fear'd, and kill with looks; 
Infusing him with self and vain conceit, — 
As if . . . this flesh, which walls about our life, 
Were brass impregnable ; and humour'd thus, 
Comes at the last, and with a little pin 
Bores through his castle wall, and . . .farewell king 1-0* 
Cover your heads, and mock not flesh and blood 
With solemn reverence ; throw away . . . respect, 
Tradition, form, and ceremonious duty, — 
For you have but mistook me all this while. rs\ 
I live with bread like you, feel want, taste grief, 
Need friends : — /T\ subjected thus, 
How can you say to me I am a king ? 

music. — Shakespeare. 
Note but a wild and wanton herd, 
Or race of youthful and unhandled colts, 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 223 

Fetching mad bounds, bellowing, and neighing loud, 

[Which is the hot condition of their blood ; sss 

If they perchance but hear a trumpet sound, 

Or any air of music touch their ears, 

You shall perceive them <T\ make a mutual standi 

Their savage eves turn'd to a modest gaze, 

By the sweet power of music. — Therefore, the poet 

Did feign, that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and floods ; — 

Since 7iaught so stockish, hard, and full of rage, 

But music, for the time, doth change his nature. 

The man that hath no music in himself, 

Nor is not mov'd vtith. concord of sweet sounds, 

Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils ; — 

The motions of his spirit are dull as night, 

And his affections dark as Erebus : 

Let no such man be trusted. 

MUTABILITY OF LOVE. — Moore. 

Alas ! how light a cause may move 

Dissension between hearts that love ! — 

Hearts that the world in vain had tried, 

And sorrow but more closely tied ! 

That stood the storm— when waves were rough — 

Yet, in a sunny hour fall off; — 

Like ships that have gone down at sea, 

When heaven was all tranquillity I /T\ 

A something, light as air — a look, 

A -word . . . unkind, or wrongly taken — 
Oh ! Love, that tempests never shook, 

A breath, a touch like this, hath shaken. 
And ruder words will soon rush in, 
To spread the breach that words begin ; — 
And eyes forget the gentle ray 
They wore in courtship 's smiling day; — 
And voices lose the tone that shed 
A tenderness round all they said . . . 
Till, — fast declining — one by one 
The sweetnesses of Love are gone : — 
And hearts, so lately mingled, seem 
Like broken clouds, — or like the stream 
That smiling left the mountain's brow, 

As though its waters ne'er could sever, 
Yet — ere it reach the plains below — 

Breaks . . . into floods that part for ever. 

NATURAL FREEDOM. — CotVper. 

But slavery I virtue dreads it as her grave, 
Patience itself is mea?mcss in a slave : 
Or, — if the will and sovereignty of God 
Bid suffer it awhile, and kiss the rod, — 



224 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

Wait for the dawning of a brighter day, 
And snap the chain the moment that you may. 
Nature imprints upon whate'er we see 
That has a heart and life in it — be free ! 

perversity. — courting a shrew. — Shakespeare. 

I will attend her here, 
And woo her with some spirit when she comes. 
Say, that she rail . . . why, then, I'll tell her plain, 
She sings as sweetly as a nightingale. /T\ 
Say, that she frown . . . I'll say she looks as clear 
As morning roses newly wash'd with dew. i^\ 
Say, she be mute, and will not speak a word, . . . 
Then I'll commend her volubility, — 
And say — she uttereth piercing eloquence. 
If she do bid vat pack . . . I'll give her thanks, — 
As though she bid me stay by her a -week :^\ 
If she deny to wed, . . . I'll crave the day 
When I shall ask the bans, and when be married. 

pity. — Crabbe. 
What cutting blast ! and he can scarcely crawl : 
He freezes as he moves, — he dies if he should fall ! 
With cruel fierceness drives this icy sleet . . . 
And must a Christian perish ... in the street, 
In sight 'of Christians ?/r\ There ! at last, he lies, — 
Nor, unsupported, can he ever rise. — 
He cannot live. — In pity do behold 
The man afFrightened, weeping, trembling, cold : 
Oh ! how those flakes of snow their entrance win 
Through the poor rags, and keep the frost within I 
His very heart seems frozen, as he goes 
Leading that starved companion of his woes. 
He tried to pray — his lips, I saw them move, 
And he so turned his piteous eyes above ; 
But the fierce wind the willing heart opposed, 
And, ere he spoke, the lips in misery closed. 
Poor suffering object ! yes, for ease you prayed, 
And God will hear, — He only, I'm afraid. rz\ 
When reached his home, to what a cheerless fire 
And chilling bed will those cold limbs retire ! 
Yet ragged, wretched as it is, that bed 
Takes kalfWxe space of his contracted shed. 
I saw the thorns beside the narrow grate, 
With straw, collected in a putrid state : 
There will he, kneeling, strive the fire to raise, 
And that will warm him, rather than the blaze ; 
The sullen, smoky blaze, that cannot last 
One moment after his attempt is past : ^r\ 
And I, so warmly and so purely laid, 
To sink to rest ! . . . indeed, I am afraid! 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 225 

poverty. — Hartley Coleridge. 

'Tis sweet to see 
The </«y-dawn creeping gradual through the sky : 
The silent sun at noon is bright and fair, 
And the calm eve is lovely ; but 'tis sad 
To sink at eve on the dark dewy turf, 
And feel . . . that none in all that countless host 
Of glimmering stars, beholds one little spot, 
One humble home of thine. The vast void sky, 
In all its trackless leagues of azure light, 
Has not one breath of comfort for the wretch 
Whom houseless penury enfranchises ; 
A brother freeman of the midnight owl, 
A sworn acquaintance of the howling winds. 
And flaggy pinion'd rain. 

prayer. — Tennyson . 

More things are wrought by prayer 
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice 
Rise like a. fountain forme night and day. 
For what are men better than sheep or goats, 
That nourish a blind life within the brain, 
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer, 
Both for themselves and those who call them friend ? 
For so, the whole round earth is every way 
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. 

proud independence. — Shakespeare. 

Your grace shall pardon me, — I will not back; 

I am too high born to be propertied ; 

To be a secondary — at control, 

Or useful serving-man and instrument 

To a?iy sovereign state throughout the world. 

Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars 

Between this chastised kingdom and myself 

And brought in matter that shouldy<?<?^ this fire : — 

And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out 

With that same weak wind that enkindled it. 

You taught me how to know the face of right, 

Acquainted me with interest to this land : 

Yea thrust this enterprise into my heart; 

And come ye now to tell me John hath made 

His -peace with Rome ? What is that peace to me P 

I, by the honour of my marriage-bed, 

After young Arthur, claim this land for mine ; 

And, now it is half conquered, must I back, . . . 

Because that "John hath made his peace with Rome?" 

Am / Rome's slave? What penny hath Rome borne, — 

J 5 



226 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

What men provided, — what munition sent, 
To under-froJ> this action? Is't not / 
That undergo this charge? Who else but I, — 
And such as to my claim are liable, 
Sweat in this business, and maintain this war? 
Have I not here the best cards for the game, 
To win this easy match played for a crown? 
And shall I now give o'er the yielded set? — 
No, on my soul ; it never shall be said. 

raving. — Dickens. 

" Nobody shall go near her." said the man, starting fiercely up, 
as the undertaker approached the recess. "Keep back I keep 
back ! if you've a life to lose." 

" Nonsense, my good man." said the undertaker, who was pretty 
well used to misery in all its shapes — " nonsense ! " 

"I tell you," said the man — clenching his hands, and stamp- 
ing furiously on the floor, — " I tell you I won't have her put into 
the ground ! She couldn't rest there. The worms would worry 
— not eat her, — she is so worn away." 

The undertaker offered no reply to this raving ; but, producing 
a tape from his pocket, knelt down for a moment by the side of 
the body. 

"Ah ! " said the man, — bursting into tears, and sinking on his 
knees at the feet of the dead woman ; — " kneel down, kneel down ; 
kneel round her, every one of you, and mark my words. I say, 
she starved to death. I never knew how bad she was, till the 
fever came upon her, and then /-rs her bones were starting through 
the skin. There was neither fire nor candle ; she died in the 
dark — in the dark! She couldn't even see her children's faces, 
though we heard her gasping out their names. rs\ I begged tor her 
in the streets, h\ and . . . they sent me to frison I When I came 
back, she was dying; and all the blood in my heart is dried up, 
for they starved her to death I I swear it before Heaven that 
saw it, — they starved her! " He twined his hands in his hair, 
and, with a loud scream, rolled grovelling upon the floor; his 
eyes fixed, and the foam gushing from his lips. 

rebellion. — Moore. 

Rebellion ! foul dishonouring word. 

Whose wrongful blight so oft has stained 
The holiest cause that tongue or sword 

Of mortal ever lost or gained. 
How many a spirit, born to bless, 

Hath sunk beneath that withering name, — 
Whom but a day's, an hour's success, 

Had wafted to eternal fa me! 
As exhalations, when they burst 
From the warm earth, if chilled at first, 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 227 

If checked in soaring from the plain, 
Darken to fogs, and sink again ; — 
But, — if they once triumphant spread 
Their wings above the mountain-head — 
Become enthroned in upper air, 
And turn to sun-bright glories there ! 

regretful pity. — Shakespeare. 

Alas ! poor Yorick ! I knew him, Horatio : a fellow of infinite 
pest, of most excellent fancy ; he hath borne me on his back a 
thousand times; and now. . . how abhorred inmy imagination it 
is ; /Tv my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have 
kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now f Your 
gambols ? Your songs ? Your flashes of merriment that were 
wont to set the table on a roar f Not one now ... to mock your 
own grinning? Quite chop-fallen ? rss Now get you to my lady's 
chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour 
she . . . must come ; make her laugh ... at that. 

rejecting counsel. — Shakespeare. 

I pray thee, cease thy counsel, — 

Which falls into mine ears as profitless 

As water in a sieve ; give not me counsel ; 

Nor let no comforter delight mine ear . . 7 

But . . . such a one whose wrongs do suit with mine. 

Bring me a father that so loved his child, 

Whose joy of her is over-whelmed like mine, 

And bid him speak of patience. /c\ 

Measure his woe the length and breadth of mine, 

And let it answer every strain for strain ; 

As thus for thus, and such a grief for such. 

In every lineament, branch, shape, and form . . . 

If such a one will smile, and stroke his beard ; 

Cry — Sorrow, wag ! and hem when he should groan ; 

Patch grief with proverbs ; . . . bring him yet to me, 

And I of him will gather patience. 

But there is no such man ; /cs for men 

Can counsel, and speak comfort to that grief 

Which they themselves not feel ; but, tasting it, 

Their counsel turns to passion — which before 

Would give preceptial medicitic to rage — 

Fetter strong madness in a silken thread — 

Charm ache with air — and agony with words ... 

No, no; 'tis all men's office to speak patience 

To those that wring under the load of sorrow : 

But no man's virtue, nor sufficiency, 

To be so moral, when he shall endure 

The like himself: therefore give me no counsel : /Ts 

My griefs cry louder than advertisement. 



228 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

remembered love. — Hon. Mrs. Norton. 
Oh, while the heart, where her head hath lain 
In its hours of joy, in its sighs of pain ; 
While the hand, which so oft hath been clasped in hers, 
In the twilight hour, when nothing stirs, — 
Beat with the deep full pulse of life; 
Can he forget his departed wife? 
Many may love him«, and he, in truth, 
May love, but not with the love of his youth ; 
Ever, around his joy, will come 
A stealing sigh for that long-loved home ; 
And her step and her voice will go glidingly by, 
In the desolate halls of his memory I 

remonstrance — with indignation. — Mrs. Hemans. 

What ! let the foe engird us — that our bands 
May rest ? Forget that last disastrous day ! 
Forget it ! Rest ! Bethink you, noble knights, 
Whence we must now draw strength ! send down your thoughts 
Into the very depths of grief and shame, 
And bring back courage thence ! To talk of rest ! /T\ 
How do they rest, unburied on their field, 
Our brethren, slain by Gaza? Had we time 
To give them funeral rites ? and ask we now 
Time to forget their fall? My father died. . . . 
I cannot speak of him ! . . . What ! and forget 
The infidel's fierce trampling o'er our dead ? 
Forget his scornful shout f /T\ give battle now, 
While the thought lives, as fire lives ! There lies strength I 
Hold the dark memory fast ! Now, now — this hour / 
Gather your forces to the western gate ! 
Let none forget that day ! Our field was lost — 
Our city's strength laid low, — one mighty heart, — 
Your Chief's . . . my father's — broken ! Oh ! let none 
Forget it ! Arm ! Way for remorse ! Arm ! arm ! 
Free way for vengeance ! 

remorse— for committing murder.— Shakespeare* 
O, my offence is rank ... it smells to heaven; — 
It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, — 
A brother's murder ; sis Pray can I not. 
Though inclination be as sharp as 'twill 
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent; 
And — like a man to double business bound, — 
I stand in pause where I shall first begin . . . 
And both neglect, rrs What if this cursed hand 
Were thicker than itself with brother's blood? 
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens 
To wash it white as snow f Whereto serves mercy, 
But to confront the. visage of offence ? 






THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 229 

And what's in grayer, but this two-fold force, — 

To be forestalled ere we come to fall, 

Orpardon'd, being down? Then I'll look up, 

My fault is past. But, O, what/brw of prayer 

Can serve my turn ?. . . Forgive me . . . my foul murder ? . . . 

That cannot be, since I am still possess'd 

Of those effects for which I did the murder — 

My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. 

May one be pardon'd, and retain the offence ?/T\ 

In the corrupted currents of this world, 

Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice; — 

And oft 'tis seen, the wicked prize itself 

Buys out the laiv. But 'tis not so above — 

There is no shuffling — there the action lies 

In his true nature ; and we ourselves compell'd, 

Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults, 

To give in evidence. What then ? what rests ?rr\ 

Try what repentance can : . . . what can it not ? 

Yet what can it, when one can not repent? 

O wretched state? O bosom, black as death ! 

limed soul, that, struggling to be free, 

Art more engaged ! Help, angels ! /T\ Make essay ! . .'. 
Bow, stubborn knees ! and heart, with strings of steel, 
Be soft as sinews of the new born babe, /?s 
All may be well ! 

remorse — for drunkenness. — Shakespeare. 

1 remember ... a mass of things . . . but nothing distinctly : a 
quarrel . . . nothing -wherefore. O that men should put an enemy 
in their mouths to steal aivay their brains! that we should . . . 
with joy, pleasure, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into 
beasts I I will ask him for my place again ... he shall tell me I 
am ... a drunkard, /rs Had I as many months as Hydra, such an 
answer would stop them all. /Ts To be now a sensible man, by and 
bye a fool, and presently ... a beast! T\ O strange ! every inor- 
dinate cup is unblessed— and the ingredient ... is a devil I 

REMORSELESS HORROR. — Baillie. 

Alone . . . with thee ! but thou art nothing now. 

'Tis done, — 'tis numbered with the things o'erpast ; 

Would — would it were to come ! — 

What fated end, what darkly gathering cloud, 

Will close on all this horror? 

O, that dire madness would unloose my thoughts, 

And fill my mind with wildest fantasies, 

Dark, restless, terrible ! Aught, aught . . . but this ! rr\ 

How with convulsive life he heaved beneath me, 

E'en with the death's wound gored ! O horrid, horrid ! 

Methinks I feel him still. /?s What sound is that? 



23O THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

I heard a smothered groan. /7\ It is impossible ! . . . 

It moves ! It moves ! the cloth doth heave and swell. 

It moves again ! I cannot suffer this, — 

Whate'er it be, I will uncover it. /T\ 

All still beneath. 

Nought is there here but fixed and grisly death. 

How sternly fixed ! Oh ! those glazed eyes ! 

They look upon me still. 

Come, madness ! come unto me, senseless death ! 

I cannot suffer this ! 

reproach with want of friendship. — Shakespeare. 

You have done . . . that, you should be sorry for. 
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats ; 
For I am arm'd so strong in honesty, 
That they pass by me as the idle wind, 
Which I respect not. I did send to you 
For certain sums of gold, which you . . . denied me', 
For / can raise no money by vile means ; 
No, Cassius, I had rather coin my heart, 
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash 
By any indirection. I did send 
To you for gold ... to pay my legions, 
Which you . . . denied me. <cn Was that done like Cassius ? 
Should /have answer'd Caius Cassius so? 
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous, 
To lock such rascal-counters from his friends, 
Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts, 
Dash him to pieces ! 

reproach, with want of manliness. — Shakespeare. 

O proper stuff I 
This is the very painting of your fears ; 
This is the . . . rt*>-drawn dagger, which you said 
Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts 
{Impostors to true fear) would well become 
A woman's story, at a winter's fire, 
Authoriz'd by . . . her grandam. T\ Shame itself! 
Why do you make such faces ? When all's done, 
You look but on a stool. 

reproach with stupidity and inconstancy. 

That Caesar comes in triumph ! 
Wherefore rejoice P — What conquest brings he home ? 
What tributaries follow him to Rome, 
To grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels? 
You blocks, you stones, you -worse than senseless things ! ts 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 231 

O, you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome. — 
Knew ye not Pompey f Many a time and oft 
Have you climbed up to walls and battlements, 
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney tops, — 
Your infants in your arms. — and there have sat 
The live-long day, with patient expectation, 
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome : 
And when you saw his chariot but appear, 
Have you not made a universal shout, 
That Tiber trembled underneath her banks, 
To hear the replication of your sounds, 
Made in her concave shores ? . . . 
And do you now put on your best attire ? 
And do you now cull out a holiday f 
And do you now strew flowers in his way 
That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood 
Be gone ! /T\ 

Run to your houses ; fall upon your knees ; 
Pray to the gods to intermit the plague, 
That needs must light on this ingratitude. 

REPROOF OF SERVILITY. — Byron. 

Approach, thou craven crouching slave, 

Say, is not this Thermopylae f 
These waters blue that round you lave — 

O servile offspring of the free — 
Pronounce what sea, what shore is this :/tn 
The gulf, the rock of Salami's ! rs\ 
These scenes, their story not unknown, 
Arise, and make again your own : 
' Snatch from the ashes of your sires 
The embers of their former fires : 
And he who in the strife expires 
Will add to theirs a name of fear 
That Tyranny shall quake to hear : 
And leave his sons a hope, a fame, 
They too will rather die than shame ! 
For Freedom's battle once begun, 
Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son, 
Though baffled oft, is ever \ won. 

sad foreboding. — Shakespeare. 

This man's brow, like to a title-leaf, 

Foretells the nature of a tragic volume 

To fright our party. — How does my son, and brother ? 

Thou tremblest, and the whiteness of thy cheek 

Is apter than thy tongue to tell thy errand, srs 

Even such a man, — so faint, so spiritless, 

So dull, so dead in look, so woe-bcione, — 



232 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

Drew Priam's curtain in the dead of night, 
And would have told him, half his Troy was burn'd . 
But Priam found the fire, ere he his tongue; — 
And I. . . my Percy's death, ere thou report'st it. 
This thou would'st say. Your son did thus, and thus 
Your brother, thus : so — fought the noble Douglas ; 
Stopping my greedy ear with their bold deeds . . . 
But in the end, — to stop mine ear indeed, — 
Thou hast a sigh to blow away this praise, 
Ending with — brother, son, and all . . . are dead. 

sarcastic expostulation. — Shakespeare. 

Signior Antonio, many a time — and oft 

On the Rialto — you have rated me 

About my moneys, and my usances : /T\ 

Still have I borne it with a patient shrug; 

For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe. 

You call me — misbeliever, cut-throat — dog, 

And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine . . . 

And all for use of that which is mine oivn. 

Well, then, it now appears you need my help : 

Go to, then ; you come to me, and you say, 

Shy lock, we would have moneys : . . . You say so ; 

You, . . . that did void your rheum upon my beard, 

And foot me, as you spurn a stranger cur 

Over your threshold ; Moneys is your suit ! sts 

What should I say to you ? Should I not say 

Hath a dog money? is it possible 

A cur can lend three thousand ducats ? or, . . . 

Shall I bend low, and in a bondsman's key, 

[With bated breath, and whispering humbleness, | 

Say this, — 

Fair sir, you . . . spit on me on Wednesday last ; 

You spurn d me . . . such a day ; another time 

You called me . . . dog ; and for these . . . courtesies 

I'll . . . lend you thus much moneys. 

scorn. — Byron. 

Pardon is for men, 
And not for reptiles, — we have none for Steno, 
And no resentme?it ; things like him must sting, 
And higher beings suffer, — 'tis the charter 
Of life. The man who dies by an adder's fang 
May have the crawler crush'd. but feels no anger ; 
'Twas the worm's nature ; and some men are worms 
In soul . . . more than the living things of tombs. 

selfish hatred —Shakespeare. 

How like a fawning publican he looks ! 
I hate him /r\ for he is a . . . Christian : 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 233 

But more, for that, in low simplicity, 

He lends out money gratis,— and brings down 

The rate of usance here with us, in Venice. " 

If I can catch him once upon the hip, 

I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him. 

He hates our sacred nation, and he rails, — 

Even there where merchants most do congregate. — 

On me, my bargains, and my well won thrift, 

Which he calls . . . interest : /7\ Cursed be my tribe, 

If I forgive him ! 

shuffling refusal. — Shakespeare. 

They answer in a joint and corporate voice, 

That now they are at fall, — want treasure, — cannot 

Do what they would . . . are sorry : . . . you are honourable . . . 

But yet . . . they could have wish'd . . . they know not . . . 

Something hath been amiss ... a noble nature 

May catch a wrench . . . would all were well . . . 'tis pity. ^ 

And so, intending other serious matters, 

After distasteful looks, and these hard fractions, 

With certain half-cups, and cold moving nods, 

They froze me into silence. 

sickness. — Shakespeare. 

And wherefore should this good news make me sick ? 

I should rejoice now at this happy news, 

And now my sight fails, and my brain is giddy, . . . 

me ! . . . come near me, . . . now I am ?nuch ill. /C\ 

1 pray you take me up, and bear me hence 
Into some other chamber. rr\ Softly, pray — 

Let there be no noise made, my gentle friends, — 
Unless some dull and favourable hand 
Will whisper music to my weary spirit. 

sorrow causing forgetfulness. — Shakespeare. 

Yet one word more : — grief ooundeth where it falls, . . . 

Not with an empty hollowness, but weight ; 

I take my leave before I have begun, 

For sorrow ends not when it seemeth done ; — 

Commend me to my brother, Edmund York — 

Lo, this is all : . . . nay, yet depart not so ; 

Though this be all . . . do not so quickly go. ^ 

I shall remember more. Bid him . . . Oh, what f T\ 

With all good speed at Plashy visit me. t\ 

Alack, and what shall good old York there see, 

But empty lodgings, and unfurnish'd walls, 

Unpeopled offices, untrodden stones ? 

And what hear there for welcome but my groans ? 



234 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

Therefore commend me ... let him not come there — 
To seek out sorrow that dwells every where; 
Desolate, desolate! I will hence, and die :^n 
The last leave of thee takes my weeping eye. 

stern reproach. — Shakespeare. 

Enforced thee ! art thou king, and -wilt be forced? 
I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch ! 
Thou hast undone . . . thyself, thy son, and me; 
And given unto the house of York such head 
As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance. 
To entail him and his heirs unto the crown, 
What is it but to make thy sepulchre, 
And creep into it far before thy time? 
War-wick is chancellor, and the lord of Calais ; 
Stern Faulconbridge commands the narrow seas ; 
The Duke is made protector ol the realm, 
And yet shalt thou be safe t> Such safety finds 
The trembling lamb environed with wolves. 
Had /been there, which am a silly woman, 
The soldiers should have tossed me on their pikes 
Before I would have granted to that act. 
But thou preferr'st thy life before thine honour. 
And, seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself — 
Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed, — 
Until that act of parliament be repealed 
Whereby my son is disinherited. 

The northern lords, that have forsworn thy colours, 
Will follow mine, if once they see them spread : 
And spread they shall be ; to thy foul disgrace, 
And utter ruin of the house of York. /r\ 
Thus do I leave thee. Come, son, let's away. 

sullenxess.— Byron. 

I have not loved the world, nor the world me ; 

I have not flattered its rank breath, nor bowed 

To its idolatries a. patient knee, — 

Nor coin'd my cheeks to smiles, — nor cried aloud 

In worship of an echo ; in the crowd 

They could not deem me one of such ; I stood 

Among them, but not o/"them; in a shroud 

Of thoughts which were not their thoughts ; — and still could, 

Had I not filed my mind, which thus itself subdued. 

I have not loved the world, nor the world me. — 

But let us part fair foes. I do believe — 

Though I have found them not — that there may be 

Words which are things — hopes which will not deceive, 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 235 

And virtues which are merciful, nor weave 
Snares for the failing: I would also deem, 
O'er others' griefs, that some sincerely grieve ; 
That two, or one, are almost what they seem, — 
That goodness is no 7tame, and happiness no dream. 

suspicion. — Shakespeare. 

Let me have men about me that are fat ; 

Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o'nights : 

Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look ; 

He thinks too much :— such men are dangerous. 

'Would he were fatter! . . . But I fear him not : 

Yet if my name were liable to fear, 

I do not know the man I should avoid 

So soon as that spare Cassius. /ts He reads much ; 

He is a great observer, and he looks 

Quite through the deeds of men : he loves no plays y 

As thou dost, Antony ; he hears no music : 

Seldom he smiles ; and smiles in such a sort, 

As if he mock'd himself, — and scorn'd his spirit 

That could be mov'd to smile at any thing. rz\ 

Such men as he j be never at heart's ease 

While they behold a greater than themselves ; 

And therefore are they very dangerous. r?\ 

I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd, 

Than what /fear . . . for always I am . . . Caesar. /Tn 

Come on my right hand. — for this ear is deaf, — 

And tell me truly what thou think'st of him. 

SYMPATHY, WITH ADMIRATION. — Baillic. 

! I have seen a sight, a glori >us sight ! 
Thou would'st have smiled to see it — 

Yes, smil'd ! although mine eyes are wet with tears. 

Faith, so they are ; well, well, but / smiled too. 

O, had you seen it! 

Drawn out in goodly ranks — there stood our troops ; 

Here, in the graceful state of manly youth, 

His dark face brightened with a generous smile, — 

Which to his eyes such fashing lustre gave, 

As though his soul, like an unsheathed sword. 

Had through them gleamed — our noble General stood :. 

And to his soldiers, with heart-moving words 

The veteran showing, his brave deeds rehearsed ; 

Who, by his side stood like a storm-scathed oak 

Beneath the shelter of some noble tree, 

In the green honours of its youthful prime. 

1 cannot tell thee how the veteran looked I 
At first he bore it up with cheerful looks. 

As one who fain would wear his honours bravely. 
And greet the soldiers with a comrade's face : 



236 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

But when Count Basil, in such moving speech, 

Told o'er his actions past, and bade his troops 

Great deeds to emulate, his countenance changed ; 

High heav'd his manly breast, as it had been 

By inward strong emotion ha\{- conv ills' d ; 

Trembled his nether lip; he shed some tears, 

The General pans' d— the soldiers shouted loud; 

Then hastily he brushed the drops away, 

And wav'd his hand, and clear'd his tear-chok'd voice, 

As though he Avould some grateful answer make ; 

When back with double force the whelming tide 

Of passion came ; high o'er his hoary head 

His arm he toss'd, and heedless of respect, 

In BasM's bosom hid his aged face, 

Sobbing aloud. st\ From the admiring ranks 

A cry arose; still louder shouts resound; sr\ 

I felt ... a sudden tightness grasp my throat 

As it would strangle me ; such as I felt, — 

I knew it well, — some twenty years ago, 

When my good father shed his blessing on me. 

I hate to weep, and so I came away. 

terror. — Moliere. 

Ah! mercy on my soul! What is that? — My old friend's. . . 
ghost f They say none but wicked folks w-a-lk ... I wish I 
were at the bottom of a coal-pit. t\ La ! how pale and long his 
face is grown since his death : he never was handsome : and 
death has improved him very much the wrong way s?\ Pray . . . 
do not come near me! — I wished you very well when you were 
alive ; — but I could never abide a dead man cheek-by -jowl with 
me . . . Ah!— Ah — mercy on us ! . . . No nearer, pray \^\ If it be 
only to take leave of me that you are come back, I could have ex- 
cused you the ceremony with all my heart. — Or if you. . . mercy 
on us! — no nearer — pray — or if you have wronged anybody, as 
you always loved money ... a little, — I give you the word of a 
frighted Christian, I will pray as long as yon please for the de- 
liverance or repose of your departed soul. My good — worthy — 
noble friend, do pray — <//sappear ... as ever you would wish 
your old friend to come to his senses again. 

terrors of death. — Shakespeare. 

To die, and go ... we know not where : — 
To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot: — 
This sensible — warm — motion, to become 
A kneaded clod ; and the delightful spirit 
To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside 
In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice ; — 
To be imprison'd in the viewless winds, 
And blown /rs with restless violence about 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 23/ 

The pendent world ; or . . to be . . . worse than worst 

Of those, that lawless and uncertain thoughts 

Imagine howling /^O 'tis too horrible ! 

The weariest and most loathed worldly life — 

That age, ache, penury, and imprisonment 

Can lay on nature, . . is a Paradise 

To what Ave fear of Death. 

threatened revenge. — Shakespeare. 

If they speak but truth of her . . . 
These hands shall tear her; if they -wrong her honour, 
The proudest of them shall well hear of it. 
Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, 
Nor age so ate up my invention, 
Nor fortune made such havoc of my means, 
Nor my bad life 'reft me so much of friends, 
But they sha.ll Jiud awak'd in such a kind, 
Both strength of limb, and policy of mind, 
Ability in means, and choice of friends — 
To quit me of them thoroughly. 

ties of love. — P. J. Bailey. 

I loved her, for that she was beautiful ; 

And that she seemed to be . . . all Nature, 

And all varieties of things in one : 

Would set at night in clouds of tears, and rise 

All light and laughter in the morning : fear 

No petty customs or appearances. 

But think what others only dreamed about, 

And say what others did but think, and do 

What others would but say, and glory in 

What others dared but do. So pure withal 

In soul ; in heart and act such conscious, yet 

Such careless innocence, she made round her 

A halo of delight ! — 'twas these which won me ; 

And that she never schooled within her breast * 

One thought, or feeling, but gave holiday 

To all ; and she made all even mine 

In the communion of love ; and we 

Grew like each other. 

untold love. — J. A. Hillhouse. 

The soul, my lord, is fashioned like the lyre ; 
Strike one chord suddenly, and others vibrate. 
Your name abruptly mentioned, casual words 
Of comment on your deeds, praise from your uncle,. 
News from the armies, talk of your return, . . . 
A word let fall touching your youthful passion, 
Suffused her cheek, called to her drooping eye 



2 3 8 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 



A momentary lustre ; made her pulse 
Leap headlong, and her bosom palpitate. 
I could not long be blind ; for love defies 
Concealment, making every glance and motion 
Speech — and silence a tell-tale. 

These things, though trivial in themselves, begat 
Suspicion. But long months elapsed 
Ere I knew all. She had, you know, a. fever. rr\ 
One night, when all were weary and at rest, 
I. sitting by her couch, tired and o'erwatched, 
Thinking she slept, suffered my lids to close. -T\ 
Waked by a voice, I found her . . . Never, signor, 
While life endures, will that scene fade from me 1 — 
A dying lamp winked on the hearth, that cast 
And snatched the shadows. — Something stood before me ! 
In -white. My flesh began to creep. I thought 
I saw a spirit. It was my lady risen 
And standing with clasped hands like one in prayer. 
Her pallid face, in the dim light, displayed 
Something, methought, surpassing- mortal beauty. 
She presently turned round, and fixed her large wild eyes 
Brimming with tears upon me ; fetched a sigh 
As from a riven heart, and cried, M He's dead I 
But, hush ! — -weep not : — I've bargained for his soul ; 
That's safe in bliss !" /rs Demanding who was dead, — 
Scarce yet aware she raved, — she answered quick, 
Her Cosmo, her beloved ! for that his ghost, 
All pale and gory, thrice had passed her bed. 
With that, her passion breaking loose, my lord, 
She poured her lamentation forth in strains 
Pathetical beyond the reach of reason. 
" Gone, gone, gone to the grave, and never knew 
I loved him !" /C\ I'd no power to speak or move. — 
I sat stone-stxW. — A horror fell upon me. 
At last, her little strength ebbed out : she sank; 
And lay, as in death's arms, till morning. 

upbraiding— with want of duty. — Shakespeare. 

Fie, fie ! «/?knit that threatening, unkind 'brow ; 

And dart not scornful glances from those eyes, — 

To wound thy lord . . . thy king . . . thy Governor. s?\ 

It blots thy beauty, as frosts bite the meads ; 

Confounds thy fame, as whirlwinds shake fair buds ; 

And in no sense is meet, or amiable. 

A woman moved is like a fountain troubled, 

Muddy, ill seeming, thick, bereft of beauty: 

And, while it is so, none so dry or thirsty 

Will deign to sip, or touch one drop of it. 

Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, 

Thy head, thy sovereign ; one that cares for thee, 



THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 239 

And for thy maintenance : commits his body 
To painful labour, both by sea and land ; 
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold. 
While thou liest warm at home, secure and safe ; 
And craves no other tribute at thy hands, 
But love, fair looks, and true obedience ; — 
Too little payment for so great a debt. 
Such duty as the subject owes the prince, 
Even such — a woman oweth to her husband ; 
And when she's fro-war d, peevish, sullen, sour, 
And not obedient to his honest will. 
What is she but a foul contending rebel, 
And graceless traitor to her loving Lord ? — 
I am ashamed that women are so simple 
To offer war where they should kneel for peace; 
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway, 
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey. 

valour. — Moore. 

He read their thoughts . . . they were his own.r?\ 

What ! while our arms can wield these blades, 
Shall we die tamely f die alone P . . . 

Without one victim to our shades — 
One Moslem heart, where, buried deep, 
The sabre from its toil may sleep? 
No ! . . . God of Iran's burning skies ! 
Thou scom'st the inglorious sacrifice. /T\ 
No ! . . . though of all earth's hope bereft, 
Life, swords, and vengeance, still are left! 
We'll make yon valley s reeking caves 

Live in the awe-struck minds of men, 
Till tyrants shudder, when their slaves 

Tell of the Ghebers' bloody glen. — 
Follow, brave hearts ! rr\ this pile remains 
Our refuge still . . . from life and chains ; 
But his the best, the holiest bed, 
Who sinks entombed in Moslem dead ! 

vengeance — Dugald Moore. 

There is an order in the race of men, 

Who, being smit by fortune's shafts, sit down, 

And — like a statue on a pedestal — 

Seem chill'd to marble ! or, they whine away 

Their manhood — like sick maidens. <s\ I . . . was not 

Made of such moping matter ! I was not 

Fashion'd to walk the earth, and bear about 

A rainy eyeball and a nerveless heart ! 

The wild materials that are gathered here 

Could only yet be quench'd in showers of blood, . . . 

Not smothered in salt rheum ! — I have been wronged, 



24O THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 

Ay, trampled on ! — but they who smote me, yet 
May feel— when least expected— the keen tooth — 
The adder's fang, — sharp, cutting, edg'd with death, 
In what they deem'd a -worm. 

virtue. — Rowe. 
Yes ! to be good is to be happy : — angels 
Are happier than mankind, because they're better. 
Guilt is the source of sorrow : 'tis the fiend, 
The avenging fiend, that follows us behind 
With whips and stings. The blest know none of this ; 
But rest in everlasting peace of mind, 
And find the height of all their heaven is goodness. 

warning. — Cotton. 
To-morrow, didst thou say? 
Methought I heard Horatio say, To-morrow. 
Go to — I will not hear of it. /T\ To-morrow ! 
'Tis a sharper, — who stakes his penury 
Against thy plenty; who takes thy ready cash, 
And pays thee nought, . . . but wishes, hopes and promises, 
The currency of idiots : injurious bankrupt, 
That gulls the easy creditor! — To-morrow ! 
It is a period no-ivhere to be found 
In all the hoary registers of Time, — 
Unless, perchance, in the fooVs calendar! 
Wisdom disclaims the word, nor holds society 
With those who own it. No, my Horatio, 
'Tis Fancy's child, and Folly is its father; 
Wrought of such stuff as dreams are, and baseless 
As the fantastic visions of the evening. 
But, soft, my friend ; rs\ arrest the present moments ; 
For, be assured, they all are arrant tell-tales : 
And — though their flight be silent, and their path 
Trackless as the winged couriers of the air — 
They post to heaven, and there record thy folly. 
Because, though stationed on the important watch, 
Thou, like a sleeping, faithless sentinel, 
Didst let them pass, /^/noticed, unim^ roved. 
And know, for that thou slumberedst on the guard, 
Thou shalt be made to answer at the bar 
For every fugitive ; and -^ when thou thus 
Shalt stand impleaded at the high tribunal 
Of hood-winked Justice,* who shall tell thy audit ! 
Then, stay the present instant, . . . dear Horatio! 
Imprint the marks of wisdom on its wings; 
'Tis of more worth than kingdoms ! far more precious 
Than all the crimson treasures of life's fountain ! — 
O ! let it not elude thy grasp ; but— like 
The good old patriarch upon record, — 
Hold the fleet angel fast, until he bless thee ! 

THE END. 



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